For many people, a protein shake or smoothie is a vital part of their diet and fitness regimen. Protein is essential for keeping your body healthy and is vital for people who are especially active. At OptimumSmoothie.com, you can find a very user-friendly recipe database of protein shakes and protein smoothies.
The website allows you to search for recipes, browse the recipes or submit a recipe. Additionally, the protein shakes and protein smoothies are split it a featured category and a most popular category.
“Whether you’re interested in losing weight, building muscle, saddling up for a long-distance bike ride or creating a …read more

If you are trying to figure out what brands to buy in the grocery store, check out The FITNESS 2009 Healthy Food Awards. Every year, Fitness Magazine goes through thousands and thousands of packaged foods to find the healthiest options in a variety of categories. This year, the “combed through more than 46,000 products” to come up with the top 50.
Four top nutritionists put together criteria for each category and then dozens of people throughout the company tested different brands that met the standards. The category I was most interest in was the bread.
I can never figure out which bread …read more

Got a headache?  I do tonight.  Here’s what I am going to go do right after I log off.  It has really helped me in the past, hope it works wonders again tonight.
It’s called the Supported Headstand, or Salamba Sirsasana.  And it goes like this:
-Put a pad or your mat on the floor, and kneel down
- Clasp your hands, intertwining your fingers. Set your forearms on the floor
-Roll your upper arms slightly outward, while pressing the insides of your wrists firmly into the floor
-Position the crown of your head on the floor.  Gently push your hands together, and cup the back of your head with …read more

Well, it’s not earth-shattering news, but apparently, there is a new category for folks who are vegetarians MOST of the time :-)  You’re called flexitarians, and around Thanksgiving, I have to admit, I become one of you, too.
 In fact, the food industry is targeting these folks, providing vegetarian fare with just a wee bit of protein on the side.  Flexitarians could and would be considered vegetarians most of the time.  But when a slice of meat or fish passes under their noses, they don’t say no.  And restaurants and grocery stores are beginning to package food and menu items just for …read more

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve already seen a fair number of pretty cold days.
For me, this isn’t such a bad thing.  I use this time to turn my thoughts inward, and that normally benefits my practice and my outlook. 
What I do find helps make the transition to these homebound days a little easier is turning a private space within my home into a meditation and practice room.  I can’t move everything out.  I know that.  But I do spend a few days each year clearing out things I don’t need, moving them into another space, …read more

I do everything I can to watch what I eat.  Sometimes, too much.  Already a vegetarian.  Thinking about going vegan.  But first, I think I might go to a “sub-class” of vegetarian nutrition–the raw food vegetarian.
It makes sense. Raw vegetables, fruits and greens are the healthiest things you can put into your body.   But there are people out there who are eating what I call “raw beyond the pale”–consuming raw eggs, raw dairy products, and yes, raw meats.  Organ meats in particular. 
I can do the raw fruits and vegetables.  Nuts, legumes, etc., too.  But a raw kidney snack?  Come on.  I mean, come on.  …read more

That’s right.  Got the results from my physical last week, and they were awesome. I am never sure–at least not since my bout with breast cancer a few years back–how the test results are going to come out.  But I felt pretty good going in, and I have been working hard to change my diet, de-stress whenever possible, and just plain take care of myself.
After meeting with my doctor, one message came through loud and clear–my diet is doing amazing things for my health.  I grew up a die-hard, meat-eating carnivore.  In my late 20s I changed that up somewhat, my thirties, even more so.  …read more

Whether you’re on the vegetarian track or would like to be, rice is a great way to add important B vitamins and fiber to your diet.  It is an important part of the daily diet of over half the world–and a sacred ingredient in places like Tibet and Indonesia, where the rice goddess Dewi Sri–and rice– are believed to have a spirit and a soul.   There are a ton of varieties to choose from–about 120,000 to be more precise.  So how do you choose?
Well, it isn’t easy, but each rice has its own set of culinary qualities.  Here’s a rundown of …read more

The healing ways of Ayurveda are so plentiful, they can even make getting up in the morning a pleasure.
Try some of these rituals for a lovely, relaxing way to start your day tomorrow. Give them a try and see for yourself. You might even want to make them a part of your daily routine.
As part of its approach, Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of developing morning rituals that help balance your body with nature, and work your doshas. It’s true-building just one of these practices into your daily routine can change the way you experience your day.
-Get up before the sun …read more

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of time to read labels when I shop. But I also don’t want to grab something I just know I won’t eat later, either. Well, hopefully the dash through the grocery aisle will become a lot simpler after today’s announcement that new front-of-pack nutrition labeling (although voluntary) called “Smart Choices” will soon be available on products in grocery stores across the U.S.
The criteria that will determine which products will and will not qualify for the new labeling system were set by a group of scientists, nutritionists and manufacturers, and were built on science-based nutrition data, in hopes of helping Americans make better …read more