Are there any quirky tips that keep you healthy, like taking a spoonful of oil/honey every day?

Questions like this are the reason I wrote my book Diet Myths Busted; Food Facts not Nutrition Fiction. Too many times people are encouraged to concentrate on the minutia of details and end up ignoring the big picture of moving more and eating less and eating better. There isn’t a whole, unprocessed food out there that doesn’t offer some kind of nutritional benefit. The problem is people are always looking for something new and different when the old tried and true eat right and exercise daily is what works! There are no quick, querky, fast or surprising special ways to stay fit. Just watch Biggest Loser! The contestants are fed whole, unprocessed foods in reasonable amounts and they exercise. Nothing fancy, nothing that any ordinary person can’t do. A spoonful of honey a day is just a fad. There are plenty of people who have lost weight and kept it off without having honey.  Every patron I have had over the 20 years I have taught has been successful when and only when they adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes eating whole, unprocessed foods in a balanced proportional amount and daily varied exercise done without fads and hype.

Are there any foods like celery that don’t have calories? I really like to eat but I don’t need the extra calories.

All foods have calories. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be food. There are foods that are high in calories and foods that are low in calories. Foods that are mostly water are generally lower in calories; for example cucumbers, celery, and watermelon. Foods that are dense and high in fat, salt and sugar are high in calories. Examples are cakes, cookies, candy, candy bars, and other similar foods. If you like to eat, go ahead – just stay away from those high calorie foods and make the calories count!

My children really like the kiddie type cereals but I don’t know if they are really very good. Now I see they have added better grain and put a check mark on the box to indicate it is healthier. I want to feed my children right. Are these cereals any better now?

The cereals you mention may have more whole grains but they don’t have any less sugar or less of all the other added chemicals for color and flavor. In other words this is a way to make questionable foods appear healthy without really making any changes at all. We as parents are responsible for what our children eat. Your children can’t eat what isn’t in the house. With repeated exposure your children will learn to appreciate whole, unprocessed foods and lose their taste for cereals full of artificial flavors and sugar.

I need a good protein drink recipe!

A protein shake is a great way to start your day! Most of us start our day with a pretty heavy carb load like a bowl of cereal or a doughnut or sweet roll. Starting your day with a protein shake gets you a more balanced meal and keeps you satisfied a lot longer.

Here’s one of my favorite protein shake recipes:

1 cup of milk

1 banana

4 [frozen] strawberries

2 scoops (about 1/2 cup) of chocolate whey protein powder

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 cup of ice and water

Makes 2 servings.

Add the milk to a blender followed by the banana and strawberries. Now add in the whey powder and peanut butter. Finally, fill a cup full of ice and water, add it to the blender and blend away! Makes two large servings that will keep you satisfied for hours!

Here are a few things you can modify or add or change in the above recipe. A half cup of coffee, a few walnuts, vanilla whey powder instead of chocolate, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, grapes, or frozen blueberries. Get creative, have fun and bon appetit!

Holiday Greetings to all! A great cartoon from one of my favorite cartoonists.