Beware of what you're eating!

Just because it's healthy doesn't mean it can't hurt you! Read the following article for more info.


The new Dirty Dozen: 12 foods to eat organic and avoid pesticide residue
By: Dan Shapley

Fruits and veggies are an essential part of a healthy diet, but many conventional varieties contain pesticide residues.

And not all the pesticides used to kill bugs, grubs, or fungus on the farm washes off under the tap at home. Government tests show which fruits and vegetables, prepared typically at home, still have a pesticide residue.

You can reduce your exposure to pesticides by as much as 80% if you avoiding the most contaminated foods in the grocery store.

To do so, you need the latest info from the why the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of foods most likely to have high pesticide residues. Since 1995, the organization has taken the government data and identified which type of produce has the most chemicals.

This year, celery takes the number one spot and both blueberries and spinach make an appearance (displacing lettuce and pears).

The best way to avoid pesticide residue on foods is to buy organic produce -- USDA rules prohibit the use of pesticides on any crop with the certified organic label.

Here's a closer look at the 2010 Dirty Dozen:

1. Celery
Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals (64 of them!) that are used on crops. Buy organic celery, or choose alternatives like broccoli, radishes, and onions.

2. Peaches
Multiple pesticides (as many as 62 of them) are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit.

3. Strawberries
If you buy strawberries, especially out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that have less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. 59 pesticides have been detected in residue on strawberries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and pineapples.

4. Apples
Like peaches, apples are typically grown with poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Tests have found 42 different pesticides as residue on apples. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas, and tangerines.

5. Blueberries
New on the Dirty Dozen list in 2010, blueberries are treated with as many as 52 pesticides, making them one of the dirtiest berries on the market.

6. Nectarines
With 33 different types of pesticides found on nectarines, they rank up there with apples and peaches among the dirtiest tree fruit. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include, watermelon, papaya, and mango.

7. Bell peppers
Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides. (Tests have found 49 different pesticides on sweet bell peppers.) Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli, and cabbage.

8. Spinach
New on the list for 2010, spinach can be laced with as many as 48 different pesticides, making it one of the most contaminated green leafy vegetable.

9. Kale
Traditionally, kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus, and broccoli.

10. Cherries
Even locally grown cherries are not necessarily safe. In fact, in one survey in recent years, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries. Government testing has found 42 different pesticides on cherries. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include raspberries and cranberries.

11. Potatoes
America's popular spud reappears on the 2010 Dirty Dozen list, after a year hiatus. America's favorite vegetable can be laced with as many as 37 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include eggplant, cabbage, and earthy mushrooms.

12. Grapes
Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Only imported grapes make the 2010 Dirty Dozen list. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin. Remember, wine is made from grapes, which testing shows can harbor as many as 34 different pesticides. Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include kiwi and raspberries.

Breakfast - The Most Important Meal of the Day

Here's an interesting article I ran across today. Now you'll have no excuse for not eating breakfast!



Instant Breakfast
By Elizabeth Ward, Men's Health

In the time you spend each morning calibrating your hair gel, you could be doing something more important, with a much better payoff: eating breakfast. Mom was right (and it's okay to admit it): Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

It keeps you slim: Breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight than breakfast skippers, and successful dieters are also more likely to be breakfast eaters.

It keeps you healthy: Eating breakfast may reduce your risk of serious illnesses like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, and it strengthens your immune system so you're more resistant to common ailments like colds and the flu.

It keeps you sharp: Memory and concentration get a boost from breakfast. A study on children found that kids who eat breakfast score higher on tests and are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity. It should help you at the office, too.

The Perfect Meal
You say you eat breakfast? Good boy. Even so, it's likely you're doing it wrong. "Most men make the mistake of eating too little in the morning, and then get so hungry they go overboard and eat a giant meal later in the day," says Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D., a nutritionist in Irvine, California, and author of Stealth Health.

A typical breakfast is just a couple of hundred calories, mostly in the form of simple carbohydrates that spike blood-sugar levels and leave the body starving for energy a couple of hours later.

Even a classic fiber-rich breakfast — say a cup of raisin bran with blueberries and skim milk — provides less than 300 calories and only about 10 grams of protein. An ideal breakfast needs to be much larger — between 500 and 600 calories. And it needs to be packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, including at least 20 grams of protein and at least 5 grams of fiber. That will give your body a high-quality, long-lasting, steady supply of energy to help you through the morning.

Here's how to hit those numbers. Each of the following meals tastes great and can be made in minutes.

Blueberry Smoothie With Toasted-Cheese Sandwich
Prep time: 4 minutes 2 slices whole-wheat bread 1/2 c Kashi Go Lean Crunch! cereal 1 c fat-free milk 1 c frozen blueberries 1 1-oz slice Cheddar cheese Pop the bread into the toaster. Dump the cereal, milk, and berries into a blender and liquefy. Stick a slice of Cheddar between the warm slices of toast and nuke the sandwich in a microwave for 15 seconds. It tastes grilled—but isn't.

Benefits: "The cheese and milk in this meal are essential for building and maintaining new muscle," says Christine Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. "The whole grains in the bread and cereal will help lower cholesterol, and the minerals in the milk and cheese will help keep blood-pressure levels down."

Per meal: 509 calories, 26 grams (g) protein, 75 g carbohydrates, 14 g total fat, 12 g fiber

Grab-and-Go Breakfast
Prep time: 1 minute 1 medium apple 1/2 pint fat-free milk 1 bran Vita muffin 1 pack Skippy Squeeze Stix peanut butter Slice the apple, grab the milk, muffin, and peanut butter, and go. Squeeze the peanut butter out of its pack onto your apple slices as you eat.

Benefits: Vita muffins (vitalicious. com) contain 100 percent of your recommended intake of several important nutrients, including vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E. Foods high in monounsaturated fats — like peanut butter — may boost testosterone levels. This meal should help you burn energy more efficiently and lift more weight at the gym.

Per meal: 506 calories, 20 g protein, 87 g carbohydrates, 12 g total fat, 15 g fiber

Minute Omelette with Toast
Prep time: 2 minutes 1 egg 3/4 c frozen spinach, thawed 1 slice Canadian bacon, diced 2 slices whole-wheat bread 1 Tbsp almond butter 1 c Welch's grape juice Stir together the egg, spinach, and Canadian bacon and pour onto a plate coated with nonstick spray. Microwave for 1 minute or until the egg is fully cooked. Toast the bread and eat it with the almond butter. Chase everything with grape juice.

Benefits: Monounsaturated fat in the almond spread will help prevent spikes and drops in blood sugar, which can leave you feeling tired or crabby. Grape juice gives you an antioxidant, called resveratrol, that not only helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels but also helps improve bloodflow to the heart.

Per meal: 540 calories, 25 g protein, 73 g carbohydrates, 19 g total fat, 8 g fiber

Two PB-and-Banana Wraps With Milk
Prep time: 2 minutes 2 Tbsp peanut butter 2 Eggo Special K waffles 1 medium banana 1/2 pint fat-free chocolate milk Spread a tablespoon of peanut butter over each (briefly microwaved) waffle. Divide the banana between them and roll each to make wraps. Wash down with chocolate milk.

Benefits: Eggo's Special K waffles supply complex carbohydrates, which break down slowly in the body and stimulate the production of serotonin, a calming brain chemical. The banana is packed with potassium — a heart protector.

Per meal: 570 calories, 23 g protein, 90 g carbohydrates, 16 g total fat, 7 g fiber

The Santa Fe Burrito
Prep time: 4 minutes 2 eggs 1 c Santa Fe frozen mixed vegetables (black beans, peppers, and corn) 1 flour tortilla 1/2 c low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 c salsa Mix the eggs and vegetables and spread the mixture on a plate coated with nonstick spray. Cook in the microwave for 1 minute, stir with a fork, and microwave again until the eggs are cooked and the vegetables warm. Pile onto a flour tortilla, top with shredded Cheddar cheese and salsa, fold, and eat.

Benefits: "Without protein, guys can lose muscle mass quickly," says William J. Evans, Ph.D., a professor of geriatrics, physiology, and nutrition at the University of Arkansas. This meal is packed with it.
Per meal: 530 calories, 36 g protein, 53 g carbohydrates, 18 g total fat, 6 g fiber

Black-Cherry Smoothie and Peanut-Butter Oatmeal
Prep time: 4 minutes 1 c R.W. Knudsen black-cherry juice 1 c frozen strawberries 1 c frozen unsweetened cherries 2 Tbsp protein powder 2/3 c oatmeal 1 Tbsp peanut butter 1/2 c fat-free milk Blend the cherry juice, frozen fruit, and protein powder until smooth. Microwave the oatmeal according to the directions on the package. Stir in the peanut butter and milk.

Benefits: Men who ate at least one serving of whole-grain cereal (like oatmeal) a day had the lowest risk of dying of any cause, including heart disease, according to a 5-year study of 86,000 doctors. Cherries and strawberries are natural sources of salicylates — the active ingredient in aspirin — making them ideal for relieving stress-induced morning headaches.

Per meal: 600 calories, 27 g protein, 100 g carbohydrates, 11 g total fat, 10 g fiber

Almond-Butter-and-Raisin Sandwich With Smoothie
Prep time: 1 minute 2 Tbsp almond butter 2 Eggo Special K waffles 1 Tbsp raisins 1 Stonyfield Farm smoothie Spread the almond butter on the waffles. Sprinkle the raisins over one waffle and top with the other. Wash down with the smoothie.

Benefits: Whole-grain waffles help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and improve your body's processing of insulin and glucose, a benefit that can reduce your risk of becoming diabetic.

Per meal: 600 calories, 21 g protein, 86 g carbohydrates, 22 g total fat, 7 g fiber

Commitment

Commitment. This small word means so much. If you make a commitment to your family you stick to it right? After all, you don’t want to let them down. If you make a commitment to get something done at work you make sure it gets done because if you didn’t it would look bad on you as an employee correct? Well working out and exercise takes just that… commitment. Without a commitment you may start off strong maybe working out 4 or even 5 days a week, eating all of your 5-6 small healthy meals a day, drinking all 8 glasses of water or more a day, and passing on the after dinner dessert. But after a while you start slipping. You might say to yourself, “Well I can skip the gym today. I did go yesterday after all.” And before you know it that one day has turned into a week, then a month. Then comes the dessert. “Well it IS Bob’s birthday. I can’t NOT have a piece of cake.” When all the while you don’t even really like Bob. But now that he has cake and you want some of it… he’s a “pretty good guy”. Without a commitment to a friend or family member or most importantly to yourself you’ll never achieve the goals you have planned. Commitment means going to the gym even when you don’t feel like it, eating more chicken because you know it’s healthier and leaner even though you can’t come up with a different way to cook it this time, passing on that piece of cake and just telling Bob happy birthday, and drinking that last bottle of water for the day. It’s squeezing in at least some type of exercise even though you’ve had a rough day and you just want to kick back and relax. Remember… working out helps relieve stress so go for a walk or a jog after that long day and unwind. Take out those co-worker frustrations on some quality weight training. And at the end of the day not only will you have less stress and sleep better, but you’ll feel better about being one step closer to your goals. When you first decided to get in better shape do you remember the person you pictured in your head? The smaller, healthier, fit version of yourself? That person wouldn’t quit! They know this isn’t just something that you can do for a little while and expect amazing results. That there is no magic pill you can take. That this is a lifestyle change. And until you realize that and make that commitment to yourself your goals are way out of reach, because you can’t reach for the stars when you’re constantly looking down at that cake!

America's Worst Lunches

I'm posting a new blog and although it isn't one that I personally wrote, I'm sure you will find it helpful. Also, I apologize for my absence over the past month. I've been dealing with a few things including a sick baby, but we should be back on track now. There will be a new blog next week that I'll actually write so be sure to check it out as well.
Thanks!


America's Worst Lunches - And What You Should Eat Instead
By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding

If you're like two thirds of working Americans, you pick up lunch from a fast food joint or restaurant at least once a week. Sure, it's not as healthy as packing your own celery sticks, but eating out every once in a while can't hurt, right?

Not so fast: There might be trouble in the drive-thru lane.

Not only could the window worker pile an entire day's worth of calories through your car window, but you might also be sapping your energy and productivity: Carb overloads lead to energy spikes and crashes, and studies have shown that the bigger your waistline, the lower your cognitive functioning and the more sick days you take.

Kind of ironic, considering "convenience" is the most common reason people give for buying lunch during the workday. In this economy, it's hardly convenient to snore through the 2 o'clock meeting, or miss a few crucial days when the boss is looking for you.

A healthy lunch can help you maximize your afternoon performance, but if you're in a hurry to grab and go, you might not take the time to sort through the menu hits and misses. Let the Eat This, Not That! folks be your efficiency experts: DON'T order the following items. Opt instead for less outrageous alternatives (also below), and reap the benefits at bonus time.

QUIZNO'S
Large Prime Rib Cheesesteak Sub
1,770 calories
116 g fat (25 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
2,895 mg sodium

Fat Equivalent: Like eating 5 Dunkin Donuts cheese danishes!

It's hard enough to make the argument for one cheese Danish, but five? And we're just talking fat, here — with more than 1,000 calories of the stuff in just one sandwich. You're also be filling up with more than a day's worth of sodium and saturated fat. While this is one of the worst items you could choose, the rest of the Quizno's menu has hazards, as well.

But if your coworkers insist on eating there, order this:

Regular Turkey Ranch and Swiss Sub with reduced fat Ranch
590 calories
18 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
2,235 mg sodium

CHILI'S
Crispy Honey Chipotle Crispers
1,890 calories
99 g fat (19 g saturated)
3,470 mg sodium

Calorie Equivalent: Like eating an entire medium Pizza Hut 12" pepperoni pizza!

If you have the time for a sit-down meal, you have the time to think this through. Chicken Crispers are fun, but account for almost a whole day's worth of calories and almost two days' worth of sodium.

Your smarter choice is to eat this instead:

Classic Chicken Fajitas
330 calories
11 g fat (2 saturated)
2,080 mg sodium

And another hint for a healthy sit-down lunch: forgo the appetizers. Chili's Texas Cheese Fries with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing made the top of our list when we rounded up the worst appetizers money can buy.

ARBY'S
Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon Sandwich
818 calories
38 g fat (11 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
2,146 mg sodium

Calorie Equivalent: Like eating 23 Thin Mints (one whole sleeve)!

Just because you could prepare it at home doesn't mean it's good for you when you order it away from home — the Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon Sandwich packs nearly half of your daily allowance of calories and almost an entire day's dose of sodium. Doesn't leave much room for anything else, does it?

Eat this instead:

Sourdough Roast Beef Melt
355 calories
14 g fat (5 g saturated, 1 trans)
1,047 mg of sodium

DAIRY QUEEN
Wild Buffalo Chicken Strip Basket (4 piece)
1,340 calories
96 g fat (18 g saturated)
4,820 mg sodium

Sodium Equivalent: Like eating 14 large orders of McDonald's French fries!

Talk about a value meal: one Chicken Strip Basket gives you two days' payload of sodium! If thinking about it doesn't elevate your blood pressure, eating it might. Don't become a statistic.

Eat this instead:

Crispy Chicken Sandwich
530 calories
29 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 3 g trans)
1,020 mg sodium

PANERA
Italian Combo on Ciabatta sandwich
1,070 calories
50 g fat (19 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
3,010 mg of sodium

Fat Equivalent: Like eating 6 slices of Papa John's cheese pizza!

You were on the right track in choosing Panera, but don't be sidelined by the allure of the Italian Combo. Ciabatta bread may sound sophisticated, but you won't look so refined when you're lugging that spare Pirelli around your midsection.

Eat this instead:

Smoked Turkey Breast on Sourdough sandwich
470 calories
17 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
1,680 mg sodium

CHIPOTLE
13" Tortilla with steak, black beans, rice, cheese, sour cream and lettuce
1,005 calories
40 g fat (17 g saturated)
1,948 mg sodium

Calorie Equivalent: Like eating 40 Hershey's Kisses!

The good news about this tortilla is that it contains 57 grams of protein, but that's hardly worth the outrageous calorie and carbohydrate load — with 100 grams of carbs, you've already covered a third of your recommended daily intake, plus you're taking in nearly a day's worth of sodium and saturated fat. Downsize to drop pounds.

Eat this instead:

Three hard tacos with steak, pinto beans, sour cream and lettuce
633 calories
25 g fat (11 g saturated)
854 mg sodium

(Another hint: When it comes to Chipotle chips, just say "no." They add an outrageous 570 calories and 73 extra grams of carbs.)

HARDEE'S
2/3-lb Monster Thickburger
1,420 calories
108 g fat (43 g saturated)
2,770 mg sodium

Saturated Fat Equivalent: Like eating 43 strips of Oscar Mayer bacon!

It's called Monster for a reason. It's a monster load of saturated fat (more than two days' worth). The good news is that it has a friendlier, healthier cousin in the 1/3-lb Low-Carb Thickburger, with 1,000 fewer calories and a third the amount of fat. Even better, the Low-Carb Thickburger is true to its name — it only has 5 grams of quick-burning carbohydrates, compared to 46 grams in the Monster.

Eat this instead:

1/3-lb Low-Carb Thickburger
420 calories
32 g fat (12 g saturated)
1,010 mg sodium

BURGER KING
Triple Whopper Sandwich with cheese and mayo
1,230 calories
82 g fat (32 g saturated)
1,590 mg sodium

Fat Equivalent: Like eating 10 slices of Papa John's cheese pizza!

You should know by now not to order a triple anything. In this case you're getting egregious calorie, fat, and sodium overloads. Choose a regular cheeseburger instead and slash 900 calories, 66 g of fat, and save yourself from the judgmental stares of your coworkers, who are three times as likely to be grossed out!

Eat this instead:

Cheeseburger
330 calories
16 g fat (7 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
780 mg sodium

And once you've navigated lunch's landmines, don't blow your day with a bad dinner!

Common Sense Nutrition for No Nonsense Weight Loss

In leui of a blog written by me I decided to post an article that I read that may be helpful. So without further ado:

Common Sense Nutrition for No Nonsense Weight Loss
By: Dominique Adair, MS, RD

Lost in the flood of diet aids, diet books, magazine articles, and skinny diet gurus giving you advice? No matter what gimmick, fad, or miracle pill each guru tries to shove down your throat, there is no mystery to weight loss. These "quick and easy" solutions are merely masks to hide the simple fact that if you eat less and move more, you will lose weight. What counts are the calories you ingest. Here are five common sense rules to stand by when you want to achieve no nonsense results:

Fads will not deliver the body of your dreams.

Stop the madness! Fad dieting is simply a quick gimmick to get people to drop weight, but will not ensure lasting weight loss success. After all, fads come and go, leaving us a little ashamed at ourselves once we have partaken in them. (Think about the parachute pants era with the white glove or the famous hair-don't, the "mullet".) Use weight loss recommendations based on a balanced diet with a caloric deficit that is appropriate for your age, activity levels, and gender.

Diet is DIE with a T.

A diet has become a negative term to describe a restricted food plan. Very often people decide to go on a "diet," but think of it as a short term solution to a long term problem. Dieting has become a problematic condition in which the dieter tends to believe that beloved foods are off limits and one must forgo all food desires to lose weight. Let's talk semantics. Everyone is on a diet. A diet is just what one is consuming. It is either a "bad" diet or a "good" diet. You need to understand that "dieting" is a short term solution that will only yield short term results. Serious people should not embark on a "diet," but a healthy food lifestyle. Learn the basics of the food pyramid and know that small indulgences are necessary to keeping up healthy eating patterns.

Small delights allow people to have what they need and what they want, without having to deny themselves of a little fun with food. Just be warned that everything must come in moderation!

Not all carbohydrates are created equal.

There are "good" carbs and there are "bad" carbs just like there is "good" and "bad" cholesterol. "Good" carbs include starchy vegetables (like leafy green spinach), whole-grain breads such as wheat breads, rices, and pastas with low fat and little sugar added, and fibrous fruits such as strawberries and apples. "Bad" carbs include potato chips, candies, sugary sweets like cakes and cookies, and French fries. (But when it's all said and done, when it comes to weight loss, it's calories in versus calories out no matter what the carb… just make the calories in as nutrient-dense as possible.)

"Know Your Role"

Daily ingestion of all the macronutrients is important. Whoever said to cut out the carbs, cut out the protein, or cut out the fat, needs an update on the basics of the food pyramid. Our bodies run efficiently when we have the proper amounts of each macronutrient in our bodies. Carbohydrates, protein, and fats each play a role in regulations of activities in the body. For instance, each macronutrient plays an independent and interdependent role in the following activities: digestion, energy creation and utilization, regulation of body temperatures, regulation of hormones, satiety, nervous system activity, fighting off harmful infections, and building strong bones and muscles among other uses.

Portion control helps measure success.

When in doubt, measure it out. People often mistake portion sizes due to the large portions that are commonplace in American restaurants. There are simple methods to determine portion sizes such as using your fist as a guide when trying to determine how many ounces your serving of meat is (three ounces is roughly the size of a small fist). When measuring drinks, measure how many ounces to be ingested by pouring the liquid into a measuring cup before pouring the drink into the glass. This creates awareness and allows you to get a better sense of how much you should be pouring into their glass with each serving. Very often you'll find that the small glass of wine you had the night before was actually greater than eight ounces (at 7 calories a gram, that can bring more than 300 calories in one serving!). Besides diet cola, water, and coffee (with no additives) all beverages have calories. Liquids count, so watch how much juice, milk, and soda you pour into a glass! If you are not sure how many ounces are in a slice of meat, or what the serving sizes are at a restaurant, give them this easy trick: cut the meal into thirds and eat the first third of the meal and box the rest. Restaurants often serve up to three times the typical portion size.

The Fitness Guy’s Grocery List (Top 10 items)

So I thought we'd cover groceries this week. What better way to do this than to tell you the top 10 items that you will always find in my shopping cart. These aren't just things that I get every once in a while. These are things that are “must haves” when we do our grocery shopping. So let's get started.

1) TLC Chewy Peanut Butter granola bars – These make a great mid-morning snack and are all natural. Which means there's no high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils in the ingredients. I must admit that these are an acquired tasted because they're kind of bland, but once you get a taste for them they're one of the better snacks you can have.

2) Fresh Fruit – You just can't beat fresh fruits. They're full of vitamins and minerals that your body needs and they taste great. Need a quick on-the-go breakfast? Throw a banana and a few strawberries into a blender. Voila! Instant on-the-go breakfast.

3) Eggs – Excellent source of protein and great for breakfast with a slice of whole wheat toast. If you don't particularly like eggs try one of the egg substitutes such as Egg Beaters. They have the benefit of the protein without tasting exactly like eggs.

4) Whole Wheat Bread – The best tasting whole wheat bread I've found is Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Sugar Free Bread. It doesn't have all of the whole grains in it which means you won't bite in to little chunks while having your tuna sandwich.

5) Fresh Vegetables – Again, they're full of vitamins and minerals that your body needs and they're so versatile when it comes to cooking you can find a way that suits your taste buds. Just shy away from the butter and too much salt.

6) Chicken Breasts – As with eggs, chicken breasts are an excellent source of low fat protein. My favorite way to make them is to add just a bit of Ms. Dash seasoning to them and then bake them in the oven at 400-425 degrees (frozen) for approximately 1 hour or until they reach 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.

7) Fat Free Milk – Also a good source of protein as well as calcium without all of the fat of whole milk and less calories.

8) Whole Grain Cereal – My favorite is Raisin Bran. The raisins give it a bit of a sweet taste while the flakes are a good source of fiber. The only drawback is that because of the raisins it has high fructose corn syrup which you should try to avoid. This is the only instance when it's ok to let it slide.

9) Tuna (in water, not oil) – Not only is this an excellent source of protein, but is also has OMEGA 3 fatty acids which are good for your heart and help lower cholesterol. I know it's hard to just eat this right out of the can so it's ok to drain off the water, add 1 teaspoon of fat free mayo and make a sandwich.

10) Brown Rice – This is also a good source of whole grains, but make sure you stick to the ½ cup serving. Brown rice is preferred over white rice because it digests slower and less of it is stored as body fat.

So there you have it. The top 10 things I get at the grocery store. So the next time you're doing your shopping try to keep this list in mind and you'll be on your way to eating healthier meals.