Health Foods Blog

Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog

The Trouble With Grapefruit

by lillieinthecity
Both nutritious and delicious grapefruit has become more popular, and is no longer just an option for breakfast. Low in calories and high in vitamin C. and potassium, grapefruit contains bioflavonoids and other plant chemicals which can help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Most people purchase the white grapefruit (which strangely enough has a yellow skin). However pink or red grapefruits are a better purchase because they are high in beta-carotene and lycopene which is an antioxidant that can help reduce risks of cancer.

Half a grapefruit provides 70% of the adult recommended daily nutrient intake of vitamin C. Again higher levels of the vitamin C. can be found in the red and pink grapefruit varieties. Lately some fad diets have claimed that grapefruit possess a unique ability to burn fat. This is untrue. Grapefruit has no such ability. However a grapefruit is also high in pectin which is a soluble fibre that may help reduce blood cholesterol.

Phenolic acid can also be found in grapefruit and this is a substance which also stimulates the production of enzymes that may help to prevent cancer. It has also been noted that people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders who eat grapefruit on a daily basis experience a relief of their symptoms.

Challenges with grapefruit.

There are however drawbacks with grapefruit. Compounds in the grapefruit can enhance the effects of some drugs which may lead to some undesirable side effects, so grapefruit should not be eaten if you are prescribed certain medications. Always check with your doctor first.

Medications that cause concern are medications which lower blood pressure, and medications prescribed for elevated lipids, depression and anxiety.

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Submitted by Café Physique

Learn to Just Chill

Appetizer
Learning to relax can be a big step towards weight loss.
Main Course
If you seem to have a more difficult time losing weight than your friends, it might not be your genetics. It might actually be your stress level. When you feel frazzled, your body releases cortisol, a nasty hormone that encourages your body to store fat and eats away at muscle. Here are few tips that will hopefully make you feel more Zen, making it a bit easier to lose those last few pounds:

Make Your Diet Easy to Follow - You should plan a diet that strikes a healthy balance between foods that are good for you and foods you love. If you focus too heavily on stuff that’s bland but healthy, you will feel deprived, stressed and irritable. On the other hand, if you indulge too often, all that sugar and saturated fat will inevitably expand your waistline. So if you find yourself craving food too often or get frustrated with your food choices, it’s time to rethink things.

Carve Out Time for Yourself – Aim to have at least an hour of every day where you do nothing but something you truly enjoy. Disconnect the phone and read a nice book, do a crossword puzzle, play a musical instrument or whatever else it is you enjoy most. “Me time” will help you unwind and put everything into perspective.

Recognize Your Stressors and Avoid Them - This one might sound obvious, but a lot of people choose to confront stressful situations and people, even when there is no reason to. If the evening news makes your back tense, turn it off. If a coworker is overly critical of you, try and limit your contact with him. Fewer stress points means less stress.

Get Moving – Study after study has shown that regular exercise works wonders on reducing stress and the effects of depression.

Dessert
Love Your Body! The more insecure and self-conscious we feel, the more stressed we become, and the more cortisol your body releases. Given this, a poor self-image is not just emotionally hurtful but physically unhealthy too. The better you feel about yourself, the healthier you become. Visit CafePhysique.com to learn more about LoveYour Body Month and how we’re choosing to celebrate it.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple

Nutrition on a budget project: stir fry

This favorite of mine is a great way to get more veggies and protein into your diet. It also can be quickly remixed throughout the week to be several different meals.

Get creative with your approaches to stir fry meals. Canned or frozen sliced vegetables can be inexpensively tossed into a skillet. Try water chestnuts, sliced fruit, tofu, beef or chicken are among the few different add-ins.

Consider making your own sauces to change the taste up, all inexpensive options. Stir fry veggies with barbecue sauce to top sandwiches, or experiment with tropical juices, honey or ketchup.

You can also try a dessert stir fry with sliced fruits, oatmeal, a pinch of sugar and honey.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

Breakfasts Remixed

Breakfast is an important part of our day, if not the most important. The thought of creating something tasty in the morning can be dreadful.

Take into account those mornings that don’t quite go as planned, sleeping in and other morning mishaps usually lead to a skimpy breakfast.

Even for those who take their morning seriously, it’s difficult to find alternatives to eating healthy, and the same old thing can get pretty dull fast. With all that in mind, I set out to find quick healthy alternatives to remix your breakfast worries.

On The Go Omlet-
drop an egg, and any extras you like into a zip lock bag, give a quick scramble and microwave for a minute. End result is a quick omlet prepared in a to go bag. Save extra time by slicing up your veggie add-ins the night before.

Mini Mix-It Plate-
My dad has the most interesting approaches to breakfast I’ve ever seen. Every morning he fills his normal brown plastic bowl with whatever’s handy, and takes it on his drive to work. Fruit, cheese, occasionally a few slices of lunch meat and a half a bagel are a few of the favorites. His approach is successful for a few reasons. It assures that he has enough for breakfast for starters. Also, it keeps things lively for him, and is a great way to clean out your fridge of little scraps.

Low Carb Finds-
While bagels, toast and breakfast bars are always a popular find, there’s also a solution for those trying to cut out the carbs. Slice your favorite fruit and top it with your favorite spread. Apples go fabulous with peanut butter or honey, and you can mix and match with different fruit jams and other slices. Top with some crushed nuts for a little protein in your morning or make mini fruit sandwiches if you’re on the move.

Morning Pafaits-
Another simple idea especially if you’re running late. Layer a combination of yogurt, fruit, nuts and oatmeal will make a great start to your morning. Try alternating layers of cereal or crushed granola bar as well.

Breakfast Trail Mix-
Especially for people on the move, trail mix is great to munch on. Fix your own with dried fruits, nuts, cereal and granola.

What’s your breakfast routine? Do you stick to a one favorite breakfast food or alternate often?

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Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog

Asparagus

Asparagus is actually an edible member of the lily family. The ancient Greeks and Romans attributed Asparagus with medical qualities, but they are they were just a bit over enthusiastic in their beliefs.

Asparagus certainly is a good source of vitamin C. and folate and is a useful source of vitamin E. and potassium. The vegetable contains prebiotic fibre that helps friendly gut bacteria reproduce. Unfortunately a drawback of eating asparagus is that it contains purines. Purines do two things, one they stimulate over production of uric acid and this can lead to painful gout attacks, and two, the purines can make your urine smell strongly.

Asparagus should always be kept in the refrigerator because over 2 to 3 days it will otherwise lose half of its vitamin C. Asparagus is a vegetable that should always be purchased as fresh as possible.

Picture by tofu666

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Recognizing soreness from an exercise injury is important for anyone involved with a workout regime.

A general rule of thumb is that soreness will come on the day after a workout, where as you’re more prone to feel an exercise induced injury right away or soon afterwards.

An injury may may feel like a pressure or pinching pain. Soreness is more likely to leave your muscles feeling stiff and tight. The difference comes from how you deal with the pain.

If you feel sore, it’s best to keep working out. This article specifically discusses the feeling of soreness as a sign of your muscles growing stronger. If you think you may have an injury instead of normal soreness, you may want to consider taking some time off from exercises incorporating the injured area.

If pain persists after a few days, consider talking to a doctor. To prevent both soreness and injury, it’s important to stretch before and after workouts.

For help with treating muscle aches, this site does a great job of determining between ice and heat therapy.

Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog,

Soreness vs. Exercise Injury

Recognizing soreness from an exercise injury is important for anyone involved with a workout regime.

A general rule of thumb is that soreness will come on the day after a workout, where as you’re more prone to feel an exercise induced injury right away or soon afterwards.

An injury may may feel like a pressure or pinching pain. Soreness is more likely to leave your muscles feeling stiff and tight. The difference comes from how you deal with the pain.

If you feel sore, it’s best to keep working out. This article specifically discusses the feeling of soreness as a sign of your muscles growing stronger. If you think you may have an injury instead of normal soreness, you may want to consider taking some time off from exercises incorporating the injured area.

If pain persists after a few days, consider talking to a doctor. To prevent both soreness and injury, it’s important to stretch before and after workouts.

For help with treating muscle aches, this site does a great job of determining between ice and heat therapy.

Posted by Dana at 9:21 AM 0 comments
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As a father of 2 young children, I’m always searching for ways to improve my family’s physical fitness. We live in a world of technology and let’s face it, kids love their video games and their television. However, not enough fitness can make JOHNNY an overweight little boy. Start eating healthy now and exercising and your kids will grow up to enjoy it; it will be a part of their lives. Life is balance and eating healthy and fitness should be part of that balance. What better way to enjoy fitness than as a family? Here are some tips and we’ll start with nutrition.

1. Carry healthy snacks around in the car with you. Fruits grow in hot weather. Fruits are in most cases non-perishable so apples and oranges can remain for days in a hot car in hot weather. An apple or an orange snack is much better than a snack at the local drive through. Also, carry water with you in the car. Hot water doesn’t taste well but it’s fine to keep it in your car many months throughout the year. Plus, it’s much healthier than a diet coke or a sugar filled coffee drink.

2. Just because your on a low-carb diet doesn’t mean your kids need to be on a low carb diet. Therefore, rice, beans and other healthy carbs can be part of their diet in moderation. If you want your kids to enjoy fitness and exercise, they need the energy. A few potatoes and a bit of pasta are not a bad thing. Just skip the cookies.

3. Processed carbohydrates are the worst thing for your family and therefore, you’ll be much better off if the shelves in your home have as little as possible of cookies, sweet cereal, candy, ice cream etc. If your kids don’t eat these foods when their young, they probably won’t when their older. Am I saying that they shouldn’t have a treat? Of course not, in fact there is nothing cuter than a child with an ice cream moustache. It just should not be a part of your daily diet.

 4. Vegetables should be part of every meal. Find the vegetables that your children will eat. I’m going to let you in on a little secret that may hit home. If you really believe that your children do not like vegetables, it’s probably because you don’t like vegetables. There has been no child born in the history of the world with a warning label - Caution: Does not like string beans, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions etc. You get my point.

Now the fitness part:

1. All children should be in some of physical fitness program. This doesn’t mean that you should enroll you five year old in a Gold’s Gym but most boys love things such as Karate and Soccer and Soccer, Dance, Twirling and Cheerleading are perfect examples of effective physical fitness for the young girls in the family.

2. I never met a young kid who doesn’t love to play tag or Hide and Seek. These are great ways to promote physical fitness and still have fun doing it.

3. Take vacations that allow you to have the time of your life while still enjoying an active lifestyle. Water parks are great, so are amusement parks. I’ve never been a big fan of cruises because of the restrictive nature. As the kids get older, book golf vacations and vacations that promote walking. Tanning on a beach may make you look good but it doesn’t do much for your physical fitness.

4. Family summer walks are great. When the kids are young, take them to a park or better yet, walk to a park. Your kids will cherish the memories and it will keep you young and healthy.

Most importantly, family physical fitness will form the family bond and will help build the family. Maintain an active lifestyle, eat healthy and smile.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog,

Reader Question: low carb, low sugar diets

One of my readers emailed me with a good question about dieting-

My husband is on a very low carb and sugar free diet. What is your opinion on these diets? New research on them? I find them extremely hard to stay on and do not have energy. - JanelI’ve never been a dieter. I love all different kinds of food too much to restrict myself and find I can maintain a desired weight with exercise and healthy eating. However, I understand that different dieting techniques work best for different people, and I encourage you, if interested in dieting, to read up on the best approach for you and try out several until you find one that works with your lifestyle.

I’m always weary to read about diets that cut out specific groups, as I think every food group is necessary in some regard. Carbs have been at the heart of the latest diets, promising results for cutting out the grainy group. I half agree, half disagree with the whole low carb theory. My explanation will take a bit of a nutrition lesson, so bare with me-

There are two types of carbohydrates- simple and complex. Natural simple carbs are going to be your basic fruits, while cakes, biscuits, honey, candy and refined sugar products. Basically, these guys are going to digest quickly, and give you an energy boost (hence the feeling of a sugar rush) without providing a ton of vitamins and minerals.

Complex carbs are where you’re going to find your oats, wheats, whole grains, corn and beans. These guys are going to naturally provide you with energy from their vitamins and minerals.

While both provide you with energy, the quick disintegration of simple carbs in your body is more likely to convert your burst of energy into fat for storage.

With that information in mind, it’s easy to see how cutting out carbs and sugar (sugar = simple carbs) from your diet can be beneficial. But, you’ll notice that you’ll want to keep some of those complex carbs around for their energy boost and essential nutrients.

To answer your question, Janel, to successfully manage a diet like your husbands, it takes some nutritional understanding. Because of the health benefits from complex carbs, I’ve found a lot of research against low/no carb diets. And while lean proteins have been shown to provide some of the energy boosting characteristics of complex carbs, I’ve yet to find research on any other food group that does wonders for your digestive system like the complex carb group does.

Of course everyone will have different results with different diets, but if you’re looking to jump on the bandwagon with your husband on this one, I would suggest incorporating some of the complex carbs into your diet along with lean protein to see if that will help with your lack energy.

Here are two other sites I found that may be of interest for reading up on low carb dieting: My Pyramid Site & Kent State University Health Site. Hope this helps!

As always, I love receiving mail and reader questions. Email me at asizableapple@gmail.com with any blog feedback or to submit a reader question!

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Submitted by Café Physique,

Dealing with Fitness Sabotage

AppetizerDon’t let your family and friends lead your fitness plans astray.

Main Course
If you are like most people, you’ve probably cheated on your diet because of your family and friends. Maybe someone from the office brought a batch of homemade cookies and insisted that you try a few because they were so good, or your friends made you miss a workout to go see a new movie. While an occasional treat or missed workout isn’t a big deal, it can become a problem if it happens too often. Here are a few ways to deal with fitness saboteurs:

Assume the best - Your family and friends aren’t doing these things because they are malicious; they probably just don’t understand. Don’t let your fitness plan become a source of stress in your social life, and assume that your loved ones actually have your best intentions at heart.

Just tell them - While not everyone appreciates the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, some might stop pressuring you to ruin your fitness plan if you just tell them how important it is to you.

Meet them halfway - If you’re being pulled to a movie, ask if you can see a later showing so you can still spend time on the elliptical. If your co-worker is always bringing in pastries full of saturated fat, just have a little nibble and throw the rest away. And don’t feel bad about wasting food. It’s better in the trash than on your thighs, right?

Dessert
Fitness, like any long-term goal, is really just about overcoming a series of obstacles. Sometimes those obstacles come in the form of those closest to you. But at the same time, family and friends can sometimes be a fantastic source of support. If you find that certain people are sabotaging your diet plans, try to surround yourself with a more supportive crew so you can have the confidence you need to achieve your fitness goals.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog,

Sprint vs. Marathon Workouts: Interval Training

Every time I go to the gym, I can spot at least one muscle man pumping the machines while red in the face, without fail.

While I enjoy high intense workouts, I’ve never understood the rush or sprint approach to working out incorporated with longer resting periods in between.

Generally speaking, your higher intensity workouts are geared to increase muscle size by training the body to respond to the activity quickly. Exercising at a slower pace, is going to promote more of your lean muscle while lengthening the muscle across your frame instead of bulking it.

This interesting article in the New York Times talks about the benefit of incorporating some sprint work into your workouts, called interval training or burst exercising. The addition of some high intensity work into your normal routine is a surprise to your body, which over time can benefit by increasing endurance and fat burning.

Switching up your workouts or adding an interval burst can help with your variety while at the gym. It also can fuel a competitive side, for a mid workout race or continue to serve as a challenge in your day.

Posted by Dana at 9:05 AM 0 comments
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Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog,

Why A Hangover?

Why do some people get hangovers where others only get headaches?

Usually a hangover is a direct result of drinking too much. However it is not just as simple as that. Whether or not you get a hangover depends on two things. Firstly your biochemical individuality, and secondly type of drink you take.

Some drinks have a more immediate impact than others. For example spirits such as gin and whisky, have a more immediate impact than beers or wines.

Any alcoholic drink that is mixed with carbonated beverage is more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream than if the drink was not mixed. Of course once absorbed the alcohol reaches your brain within minutes.

The immediate effect is one of euphoria or stimulation, followed by a gradual slip into nervous system depression with more consumption leading to numbness, slurring of speech, sleep, and alcoholic poisoning and unconsciousness if a serious over consumption occurs.

The over consumption point is reached much quicker if you are already taking drugs. It is also easier to reach a point where you’re breathing is suppressed because of the interaction between the drug and the drink, and if this occurs when you are in trouble. You have now got yourself to the point where you’re breathing could stop or you could choke on your own vomit.

The severity of the after-effects of drinking alcohol is loosely termed a hangover. It is caused by the by-products of the fermentation process in the manufacture of the drink concerned. These by-products are known as ‘congeners’, and the more congeners there are in a drink, then the more severe the resultant hangover may be.

Here is a list in order from highest to lowest of the drinks with the greatest number of congeners.

* Brandy
* Red Wine
* Rum
* Whisky
* White Wine
* Gin
* Vodka

So you can see from this table that Gin and Vodka which are low in the ‘congeners scale’, but high in the immediate impact list, give the quickest buzz with the lowest after-effects (providing of course you don’t overdo it!)

Did you know?

An average single pub measure of spirits contains 1.5 units, and the average pub measure of a glass of wine is the same. A pint of ordinary beer contains two units, whereas a pint of strong beer is double that at four units.

The recommended daily intake for the average healthy woman is two to three units per day, and for the average healthy man three to four units per day.
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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

Favorite Links

Top 19 Fat Burning Foods This Women’s Health Magazine article has a great slide show including the top 19 fat burning foods. Some included are whole wheat bagels, avocados and chicken thighs.

Top 5 Ways to Shape your Butt Another great Women’s Health Mag find looks at different ways to sculpt your behind at the gym.

100+ Recipes This is a really interesting site where you can pick from a drop down menu which foods to include and nutrients to add as well.

6 Fast Freezer Meals A good article from Real Simple Magazine about freezing 11 different foods and 6 quick meals you can make fast straight from your freezer.

Shoe String Situations Having problem with your laces while you’re working out? Here are 5 of the most common tennis shoe problems and solutions.

Know of a blog or article that should make A Sizable Apple’s favorite links? Email Dana at asizableapple@gmail.com
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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

Today’s update will include a reader question regarding setting up a heart rate monitor. I found the research I found to be pretty valuable, even for those readers without their own personal system.-

I recently bought a Polar heart monitor watch. I guess I do not have it set right because it beeps at me telling me to lower my heart rate when I do not even feel like I am getting a good work out.

So I went back and read the directions which tell me that I need to program the watch with my heart rate parameters. Like my low and my high. Here is my question? How I am supposed to know those? And at what rate would I find myself burning the most fat?

I enjoy high intensity workouts, though. I like to walk but find myself bored if I do it too much. I just don’t want my watch beeping at me the whole time. I guess I am going into anaerobic workout at times, but that is where I seem to really feel like I am getting an awesome workout.

Janel

Heart rates are a tricky business. People from fit to fat can have dramatically varying heart rates that never seem to make sense. When I use to swim competitively, we would do sets where the amount of rest you took depended on getting your heart rate down to a specific range. Two of the better swimmers on the team, only slightly differing in body types had substantially different heart rates. Girl A would touch, take her heart rate, and take off again, while Girl B had to get out of the pool, lay down, and after waiting 15-20 minutes, still had a resting heart rate well above the specific range.

That story in mind, you very well may find that your watch is beeping at you when you don’t feel it should, which is also why setting the parameters are important. Although I’m not an expert on Polar products, I did find a site that seemed to answer your question. This site takes you through a few calculations to find your minimum and maximum intensity rate.

As for your question about a fat burning zone, I found quite a bit of confusing information. After sorting through a few sites, I found what I believe to be the clearest here (this site is good as well). It explains that most people burn the most fat in the 60-70% maximum heart rate area, or in moderate intensity. However, if you enjoy working out a a higher intensity, you can get the same results within the 70-80% range.

The first site also explains working out at a higher intensity boosts your metabolism afterwards, which can be a perk in favor of working a bit harder. I would suggest working at a level between the two zones, allowing yourself to work out at a slightly less intense level than you may be use to for a longer period of time.

As always, I enjoy reading and researching questions for readers. If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please email me at asizableapple@gmail.com.

Posted by Dana at 10:45 AM 0 comments

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Submitted by Café Physique Blog

Getting Protein on a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet

Appetizer
Build muscle without touching an animal product.
Main Course
If you are doing any amount of resistance training, you should definitely keep an eye on your protein intake. Without sufficient protein, it will take a lot longer to build muscle and get that “tone” look you are going for. But if you are a vegan or vegetarian, it can be extra challenging to get enough of this essential macronutrient. Here are few suggestions I usually offer to my vegetarian and vegan clients.

Tofu is a staple of most vegan diets, and it fortunately contains a lot of protein. Tofu comes in a bunch of different textures, including silken, firm, and extra firm. For an extra shot of protein, stick with eating extra firm. It has the highest amount of protein per gram.

Nuts also give you a good protein kick and can be mixed with dried fruit for a healthy and filling snack. Ideally, you shouldn’t eat the heavily salted & roasted nuts you usually find in small packages. This process takes away a lot of the nutritional value and adds a bunch of unnecessary additives. In my opinion, the “king” of the healthy nuts is unprocessed almonds. They have twenty-one grams of protein per serving and tons of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Seeds are another great vegetarian protein source. Most varieties give you the protein you need plus a lot of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which can be particularly hard to get with a vegan diet. One of the healthier varieties is the sunflower seed, which has twenty-three grams of protein per serving.

Dessert
I have lots of clients who want to get fit but have to work around certain obstacles related to how they can eat or move. Sometimes they are lactose intolerant, have a bum knee, or have chosen to cut meat out of their diet. What I’ve discovered is that every obstacle is minor if the client really wants to lose that weight. Really, healthy eating is a challenge for everyone - vegans and vegetarians just have to be a bit more creative.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

Earlier this month I found an interesting article about the use of alcohol and exercise in daily routine. Interestingly, doctors have found that drinking moderately complied with a daily workout is the best way to fight heart disease.

It also surprises me, after years of hearing poor things about drinking, we’re now to incorporate a daily glass of red wine into dinner. With everything coming forth in the health world about latest trends and tips to live a healthy lifestyle, where should we stand?

The ultimate healthy lifestyle, in my opinion, is to live in moderation. Do what makes you happy at all costs. Enjoy eating what tastes good, and try new things. It’s impossible for all of us to live strictly to diet plans, but living life happy with additional simple healthy tricks added is the best we all can do.

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Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog

There are two broad quality categories of wine in the European Union: table wine and quality wine. On average, less than five percent of an annual German wine harvest goes into table wine production.

The quality wines from the 13 German wine-growing regions are made from riper grapes and subject to higher standards. Basic quality wines, Qualitatswein b.A. (QbA), and higher quality dry varietals labeled CLASSIC, are great for every day enjoyment and are best consumed while young and fresh. SELECTION is the term reserved for superior dry varietal wines. They are ideal for find dining or festive occasions and benefit from aging.

Germany’s premium quality wines, Qualitatswein mitrial Pradikat (QmP) are made from fully ripe and/or botrytis-affected grapes. They are elegant, noble and long-lived. The following Pradikats denote six ascending levels of ripeness (quality):

Kabinett - Elegant wines made from fully ripened grapes. Generally, the lightest of the Pradikat wines.

Spatlese - Literally, late harvest. Made from very ripe grapes, these wines are deeper in aroma and flavor, and fuller-bodied, than Kabinett.

Auslese - Noble wines, intense in bouquet and taste, made from even riper grapes, selected in bunches.

Beerenauslese (BA) - Rare and exquisite wines with the unmistakable honey-like aroma of Botrytis (”noble rot”). Made from overripe berries, individually selected by hand.

Eiswein - Made from grapes of BA quality, harvested and pressed while frozen. Truly unique wines with remarkable concentration of fruity acidity and sweetness.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) - The crowning achievement of German viticulture. A lusciously sweet wine made from individual berries shriveled almost to raisins.

The descriptions above for QbA and QmP wines refer to varying degrees of ripeness at harvest - primarily determined in the vineyard, by Mother Nature. The riper the grapes, the more intense or concentrated the wine. With the exception of Classic and Selection, which are always drier-style varietals, and the last three Pradikats (BA, Eiswein, TBA), which are lusciously sweet dessert wines, the ripeness (quality) designations do not provide information about the style of wine.

Whether a wine is dry, off-dry or sweet to the taste is primarily determined in the cellar, by the winemaker. The descriptive terms for style - trocken (dry) or halbtrocken (off-dry) - are qualifiers, used in conjunction with the ripeness designations. Both trocken and halbtrocken wines can be made in ripeness categories from QbA through Auslese. In other words, increasing levels of ripeness from QbA through Auslese do not mean increasing levels of sweetness. A QbA trocken or Kabinett Trocken is a dry wine vinified from fully ripened grapes (good aroma and flavor), while a Spatlese trocken is a dry wine vinified from very ripe grapes (more aroma and flavor). If neither trocken nor halbtrocken (or Classic or Selection) is indicated on a label or wine list, expect a wine with perceptible sweetness.

Jennifer de Jong is a long time wine drinker, enjoyer of wine, and non-wine-snob. She is the founder of VinoVixenz a snob free zone for learning all aspects of wine culture. From how to pronounce difficult wine names to to free wine reviews and ratings. We provide a free online guide of information to help the every man and women learn more about every aspect of wine.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_De_Jong

Photo by New Millenium Images

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

I’ve posted before about different activities to burn calories besides heading to the gym, but I recently found a more impressive site for calorie burning. This site takes into account your weight and length of activity and then lists the amount of calories you would burn in 222 different activities. While some of the options like welding or making the bed are techniques you might not think of, its interesting to take a look at simple or unique ways to spice up your workouts.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

While home for the holidays, I extended an offer to my sister, who does a lot of work with book editing and is quite if not more involved with exercise than myself, to write a guest post. Here’s her post on recovery exercises; great to incorporate into your routine after a particularly rough day.

After an especially intense workout, it’s often necessary to give your body a break. While you may be tempted to curl up on the couch while you let your sore muscles relax, the best strategy may actually be engage in low-intensity exercise (“active” recovery) instead of forgoing your workout altogether (“passive” recovery).

Muscles become exhausted and broken down during exercise, and recovery days allow them to heal and grow stronger. Although it might seem logical to let your body rest completely during these off days, research suggests that sticking with light exercise may be more beneficial.

According to this site I found, the purpose of active recovery workouts is to “exercise at an intensity that is enough to stimulate circulation and trigger certain endocrine responses, but lightly enough to avoid demanding more recovery from the recovery workout”

A study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise found that light workouts on recovery days reduce the levels of lactic acid in muscles more quickly than rest alone. There are psychological benefits to active recovery, as well: doing just an easy workout instead of skipping it altogether can help you relax, ease stress, and serve as a confidence booster.

There are several ways to add active recovery workouts to your routine. Try sticking with your usual cardio exercise, but swimming, biking, or jogging at a slower, more relaxed pace than usual. For weight lifting, focus on your upper body one day and then your lower body the next, giving your arms, back, and shoulders some time off.

You can also use active recovery days to try a new workout. If you’re used to running, try swimming, which allows you to rest your legs and utilize your upper body (as a low-intensity sport, swimming can give your joints a break, too). It’s also important to increase your stretching time during recovery days.

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Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog

Here’s an idea for a change of scenery rather than just eating the usual salad. It’s from Greece and you can add that Mediterranean atmosphere to your meal for a pleasant evening in.

You can serve this dish Hot or Cold, and it is served with either Crusty or Wholemeal bread, depending on your personal preference. Personally I prefer this salad Hot.

You can prepare the vegetables in advance if you like and store them in the fridge. Feta is the better cheese for a low fat and diabetic meal, but cheddar can be used if you don’t need to be so particular. Also feta has more salt than harder cheese, so you need to consider less salt in the remaining preparation.

Here’s what you need:

2 red peppers, 1 yellow pepper, all cored and deseeded and cut into chunks
2 salad onions cut into wedges
2lbs (1kg) of courgettes cut into chunks
1lb (500g) of tomatoes cut into chunks
2 oz (60g) of black olives
2 sprigs of thyme
7 oz (200g) feta (low fat) or cheddar cheese (higher fat) cubed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F. Put the peppers, onions, and courgettes in a roasting tin dribbling the oil over the mix, then place the thyme sprigs on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables start to slightly char and are tender, then put the remaining ingredients on top and pop back into the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Serve adding the salt and pepper to taste.

photo by Cooper_Kid

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

The more active you are, the greater ability you have to fight off illness, diseases and cancers. However, active lifestyles increase the odds that you may pull a muscle, or form a exercise related injury. Injuries can keep you off your feet for a few days up to a few weeks, depending on the extent of the ailment.

If you’re not regularly stretching before and after workouts, you could be at a higher risk for muscle cramps later on. Check out my post on dealing with muscle cramps as well. Here’s the videojug library on preventing injuries. The site does a good job of covering everything from cramping, sports prevention massage, increasing your flexibility to warming up and cooling down techniques.

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Submitted by Healthy Foods and Eating Healthy Blog

I was reading another article recently about the importance of having a good breakfast, and eating these foods at breakfast is being promoted as a good immune and metabolism boost.

You start with a small bowl of porridge with milk and blueberries. The porridge gives you some good carbohydrates and helps lower your bad cholesterol while the blueberries contain antioxidants which help counteract harmful free radicals in your body.

Next we have half a tin of baked beans on wholemeal toast with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. The wholemeal bread gives you a slow carbohydrate release, while the beans give you protein. The grilled tomatoes contain lycopene which is an anti-cancer photochemical, and mushrooms give you potassium.

You finish this off with a drink of orange juice providing you with Vitamin C.

Over all you have a nicely balanced meal which will benefit your metabolism and help boost your immune system through the morning.

I think I might give this one a try.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

In Mid-December, in one of my favorite links posts I mentioned a site that listed the health benefits of garlic. After finding a new site that looked at the benefits a little more extensively, I couldn’t refuse giving the cloves their own post. Garlic is a major staple in my family’s kitchen back home.

When I was younger, we use to buy a clove every now and then, and as my family’s love for cooking grew, we began to purchase pre-minced garlic in jars. Now it’s quick to add a tablespoon to anything you’re cooking up and the jar keeps the garlic fresh for a very long time.

Also, since its minced so fine, you’re less likely to get notorious bad garlic breath because you won’t be biting into any full cloves. Beside great flavor, the health benefits of garlic are outstanding. Ajoene, is a natural antioxidant found in garlic that protects against strokes and heart disease with its anti-clotting abilities.

Garlic has been shown to ward away colon, stomach, breast and prostate cancer, and when applied topically, can stop the spreading of skin cancer as well. Allicini, also found in the cloves promotes weight loss and lowers blood pressure. In general garlic can lower LDL cholesterol (although it can raise HDL cholesterol), and has been shown to reduce effects of exposure to asbestos. Its inflammation reducing skills make garlic beneficial to those suffering with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

It can fight germs that cause tuberculosis and a possibly kill leukemia cells. If you haven’t been swayed to swear to a life of voluntary bad breath, the antiviral and antibacterial properties of garlic can scare off a cold or flu as well. While all these facts may be a lot to handle, it’s apparent that adding a teaspoon or two to your meals can be rewarding.

Even if you’re not particularly handy in the kitchen, spoon a bit of minced garlic into soups, spreads, pasta dishes, stirfry or cook with chicken for some additional health benefits.

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

I recently got an email from a reader interested in incorporating some quick quiet workouts into her day-

I have a very small living space (row house) with absolutely no space for any machines. But I do want to start exercising more while my kids are sleeping. The trainer at my gym (which I can only get to 2-3 times/week because of child care limitations) suggested I get a strength/resistance band with handles. I have a big exercise ball and a yoga mat, 5 and 8-lb hand weights. Thinking about getting a thing to stick up in a doorway to do pull-ups with. Any other ideas? Of either stuff or, more importantly, exercises that work well in small spaces and/or are quiet as I have to do them while my baby’s sleeping?! Thanks!

- Jessica

Right off hand a few ideas from previous posts came to mind. My post on stretch bands and stability balls part one and two both offer great advice and links to videos and sites that have good programs. I think it’s most important, when starting a workout routine, to ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Although I don’t know Jessica’s case specifically other than her space and noise requirements, I have complied a good all-around basic workout guide.

Band and balls are especially great for those in Jessica’s situation- lacking space and needing a quiet exercise. I’ve done a variety of work on stability balls, from laying with the ball under my back, feet bent, and using free weights for an arm fly. You can also do some variations on push-ups balancing the ball at your hips, knees and toes for difference challenge levels, and do some rolling wall sits/squats with the ball between you and the wall (works well with free weights in hands as well).

Here is a great site with a variety of stability ball exercises, which includes details on muscle groups used, pictures and videos. Runner’s World also had a great feature on stability ball core work here as well.

Core work, (as shown by my post on core muscles) is also a great quiet workout to do with little to no equipment. Strengthening your mid-muscles makes almost all other exercises much easier. Here is a great slide show on core workouts that need no added equipment.

Medicine balls are also a favorite of mine. You can pair up medicine ball work with some crunches, hold the ball in place while doing lunges or squats, or add it to an existing stability ball workout. Here is a good site that shows some great uses of your medicine ball.

Since almost all of the workouts I suggested above (perhaps save the stability ball) require little equipment, these would be great to do in a burst exercise series or if you’re on the go. Specifically I would suggest taking a look around on the Internet or on the sites I provided for exercises that target exactly what you’re looking for, or spend a few days getting comfortable with your equipment and trying new routines out.

As always, I love hearing feedback from readers and enjoy taking on reader questions or challenges! Email me at asizableapple@gmail.com for questions or tips!

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Submitted by A Sizable Apple Blog

As part of my quest to share with readers budget friendly ways to eat healthy, I’ll be randomly posting for A Sizable Apple’s nutrition on a budget project.

One of my favorite healthy tips is with soups. You can find some inexpensive healthy options like Progresso 99% fat free soups, weight watchers 0 point options, and low sodium options as well. After finding a soup you like, contemplate ways to spice it up.

You can stretch your can for a few meals by adding to it, thickening it up and making it more of a stew. Add a handful of pre-cooked barley or beans for fiber, through in a few handfuls of frozen veggies or cubed meat. Adding in can add to the nutritious value of your meal, plus, it’s a great way to camouflage some foods you know are good for you but can’t quite get yourself to eat. Dice up tofu and throw it in and after simmering for 5 minutes, you won’t remember it’s there.

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