snacks

A side of fries today, a large soda tomorrow. Next year, a surplus of 15 pounds. When a downward economy minimizes splurges on restaurant meals and pricey supermarket foods, fast food isn't the only answer. In the long run, fast eating, whether from vending machines or drive-thrus, is neither cheap nor healthful. Recognizing the hidden benefits of affordable foods can prove your most thrifty Read more...

Hundred-calorie snacks are showing up these days faster than cellulite after a doughnut binge. There are 100-calorie packs of cookies, crackers, candy, chips, cakes and pudding. Hundred-calorie packs of nuts and beef jerky and cereal bars and Swedish fish. And even 100-calorie packs for canine companions, although we're not going to take that side track. The one thing they have in common Read more...

OK, Here's the deal. We all know that too much stress is bad for us, and have heard the long litany of ailments associated with it -- high blood pressure, obesity and cancer, to name just a few. And "find a way to relax" is the piece of health advice everyone -- from our moms to our doctors -- gives us. So why aren't we relaxing, de-stressing or taking time to smell the proverbial Read more...

Now that you have the time, try some fancy cooking by the campfire with the family and grandkids this summer. For creative recipes and helpful hints, check out  Family Fun Magazine's Website. If your adventure includes a fishing expedition, look at Classic Camp Chow for a coating mix you can prepare in advance. Rustle up a little "camp dough," and your basic biscuits can be Read more...

Never underestimate the power of snacking, says ThirdAge fitness guru Chad Tackett. By eating smaller meals more often, you can keep your energy levels high through the day -- and be less tempted by junk-food or gorging. Pack food so you are certain to have nutritious snacks available in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Advance planning is the most effective way to avoid skipping meals and Read more...

Crash diets are one way to drop those extra pounds, but are uncomfortable -- and often dangerous. A better -- and happier -- way, says London health expert Amanda Ursell, is to switch off the brain's desire for fatty foods, "and your diet will work wonders." Ursell says the trick is to alternate the balance of protein, carbohydrate and fatty foods -- and one way is to Read more...

Midnight feasting at the refrigerator is, for many, one of life's great pleasures. Experts say it's also a known health risk termed Night Eating Syndrome. Dr. Albert Stunkard, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, says night eaters can consume as much as half their total daily calories between 9 p.m. and the next morning. Snacks involved usually are high-carbohydrate Read more...

"I can't stop the craving for sweets ... it has become very addictive and not healthy emotionally and physically for me ... can you help me please!" -- K. Nutritionist Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., R.D., responds: " ... Cravings for sweets can become almost like an addiction in that the more you have, the more you typically want and it's hard to break the habit of all the sugar. Read more...

You've seen them -- men and women who insist they are firmly on a diet, yet the pounds keep mounting up. The problem, a new survey in Britain suggests, may be "snack amnesia" -- the knack of remembering the big meals they gave up but forgetting about all the little bites in between. Health expert Amanda Ursell says the study of some 520 women showed 54 percent claiming to have Read more...