Healthy Breakfast

Tropical Breakfast Parfait

Ingredients

• 2 cups vanilla yogurt (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
• 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
• 3/4 cup crisped rice breakfast cereal
• 1 cup diced fresh pineapple

Directions

Put 2 tablespoons of yogurt in the bottom of each of four juice glasses. Top with 4 orange slices. Sprinkle the oranges with a 1 1/2 tablespoons of cereal, followed by 2 more tablespoons of yogurt. Top with diced pineapple then with another 1 1/2 tablespoons cereal

Mini Frittatas

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 cups) with nonstick spray.Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the ham, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.

Could Drinking Water Before Meals Help You Lose Weight?

A new study found that middle-aged and older adults who drank two cups of water before each meal consumed fewer calories and lost more weight than those who skipped drinking water.Researchers divided two groups of overweight and obese men and women aged 55 to 75 into two groups: one group was told to follow a low-fat, low-calorie diet; the other group was told to follow the same diet and to drink two cups of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner.After 12 weeks, those who drank water before meals had lost 15.5 pounds, compared to 11 pounds for the non-water drinkers, a nearly 30 percent difference.The researchers got the idea for the weight-loss program from their prior research, which found that when middle-aged and older adults drank water before meals, they ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories at the meal.What they weren’t sure about, however, was if water drinkers would compensate by eating more throughout the rest of the day, said senior study author Brenda Davy, an associate professor in the department of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech. But after 12 weeks of dieting, that didn’t happen.

After one year, preliminary data shows that those who continued to drink water before meals not only kept those pounds off, but have even continued to lose a bit more — about 1.5 pounds on average.Yet pre-meal water chugging comes with one caveat: it may only work if you’re middle-aged or older, Davy said.Prior research has shown that in those aged 18 to 35, drinking water before the meal did not cause them to eat fewer calories at the meal, Davy said.

Eating Fish Might Protect Your Eyesight

Women who consume fish regularly — and the abundance of omega-3 fatty acids found in that meal choice — have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), new research suggests.This latest evidence of a protective link between fish oil and eye health mirrors past research that has found the same benefit. In this study, Harvard researchers performed a dietary analysis on more than 38,000 women. Women who ate one or more servings of fish every week had a 42 percent lower risk of AMD than those who consumed fish just once a month or less, the study found. Most of the lower risk was linked to fish diets composed mainly of canned tuna and dark-meat fish, the researchers noted.

10 Tips To Healthy Eating

Experts agree the key to healthy eating is the time-tested advice of balance, variety and moderation. In short, that means eating a wide variety of foods without getting too many calories or too much of any one nutrient. These 10 tips can help you follow that advice while still enjoying the foods you eat. 

1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods.
2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, 
3. Maintain a healthy weight,
4. Eat moderate portions,
5. Eat regular meals,
6. Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods,
7. Balance your food choices over time,
8. Know your diet pitfalls,
9. Make changes gradually,
10. 10.Remember, foods are not good or bad.