Ingredients

1 TBSP whole wheat flour
1 TBSP sugar (do not substitute)
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa
a pinch of baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 TBSP of low fat vanilla yogurt, add more if needed to blend the mixture

Directions

Mix it all up, pop it in the microwave for just over a minute, enjoy :)

Number of Servings: 1 

Per Serving Calories: 95.2 

(Source: health-heaven)

(Source: health-heaven)

Ingredients 

8oz Whole Oats

2oz Oat Bran

3oz Dried Apricots

1oz Raisins

1oz Sultanas

4oz Honey

1oz Dark Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Rapeseed Oil (or sunflower oil)

4 Tbsp Soya Milk

1oz Dark Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Honey

3 Tbsp Soya Milk

 Method

(Source: health-heaven)

Some examples of “healthy food” words on product labels:

Fat Free

Reduced Fat

Low Fat

Sugar Free

No Added Sugar

Diet

We are supposed to believe that each of these categories makes a food healthier. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here is what those “healthy food” phrases actually translate to:

Fat free, but full of sugar and chemicals.

Reduced fat, but increased carbohydrates.

Low fat, but high glycemic index.

Sugar free, but artificial everything else.

No added sugar, because the all natural version has enough sugar to give you type II diabetes anyway.

“Diet” food, but it causes cancer in lab rats so don’t drink/eat too much of it.

1. Diet Soda

Why is it good? A sugar free version of the popular carbonated beverage that you can drink on the go.

Why is it bad? OK, so soda is horrible for you, but take out the sugar and add in carcinogenic artificial sweeteners, combined with the artificial flavors and colors that are in all sodas, and you have a recipe for a Tumor in a Can.

Then of course you’ve got the caffeine factor, which is linked to hyperactivity, high blood pressure, and can mess with your blood sugar. Unfortunately the caffeine is an oh-so-good afternoon supplement.

Instead choose: filtered water and the occasional glass of milk

2. Sushi made with white rice and imitation crab meat or vegetables

Why is it good? Seaweed contains essential nutrients such as selenium, calcium, iodine, and omega-3 fats. Sushi is nearly always wrapped in seaweed.

Why is it bad? This garbage doesn’t deserve to be called sushi. They are just small, compact, high glycemic, high calorie, carbohydrate nuggets. There’s not even much protein in these things. Eat 3-4 of them and you’ve had your serving for the day.

Aside from that, imitation crab meat isn’t even good for you. It is mostly just a crab flavored tofu-like substance fortified with sugar, sugar, and more sugar. It isn’t tofu, it’s actually a bunch of processed white fish, but it tastes like tofu. Blah!

Instead choose: In order to get some healthy carbs, some high-quality protein, and the benefits of omega-3 fats, choose real sushi made with salmon or tuna. To make it even healthier, order sashimi instead of white rice.

3. Peanuts

Why is it good? Peanuts contain healthy fats that contribute to the reduction in triglycerides, which are known to promote cardiovascular disease. In addition to monosaturated fatty acids, peanuts also contain magnesium, vitamin E, arginine, fiber, copper and folate all of which help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Why is it bad? Aside from being high in fat and calories, peanuts also are loaded with omega-6 fats that distort the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. This ratio says that your intake of each omega fatty acid should be 1:1. The reasons why this ratio is recommended is a topic for a whole other article.

All we need to know is that the American diet is typically from 20:1 to 50:1 in favor of omega-6, so any effort to reverse this trend is important for combating over 10 different common diseases including Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes. Peanuts are often contaminated with a carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin, and they are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated crops.

Instead choose: almonds or all natural organic peanut butter, but pour off the top layer of oil and replace with olive oil if the resulting peanut brick is too stiff. Olive oil is very low in omega-6 fats.

(But honestly, if you want the peanuts you should just eat them. They’re not that bad for you diet-wise.)

4. Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter

Why is it good? All peanut butter provides a heart-healthy substantial quantity of monounsaturated fat.

Why is it bad? Most commercial peanut butters are made with the same type of sugar that cake frosting is made with. Reducing the fat makes it even worse because even MORE nasty sugar is added and they contain less healthy fat. I’d rather just eat the extra calories.

Instead choose: As with peanuts, choose almonds or all natural organic peanut butter instead. Just remember to pour off the top layer of oil and replace it with olive oil if the resulting peanut brick is too stiff. Olive oil is very low in omega-6 fats.

5. Corn Oil

Why is it good? It contains omega-6 fatty acids, which are unsaturated fats that don’t raise cholesterol. Sweet.

Why is it bad? In the true spirit of peanuts, corn oil has 60 times more omega-6s than omega-3s. Omega-6 fatty acids increase inflammation, which boosts your risk of cancer, arthritis, and obesity. This is why we prefer a balanced ratio of omega-3s, which are found in walnuts, fish, and flaxseed.

Instead choose: Canola or Olive oils, which have a far better ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s. In my humble opinion, choose olive oil instead since canola oil has some less important issues of its own.

6. Fat-Free or Reduced Fat Salad Dressing

Why is it good? Less fat means less calories. Plus that salad dressing fat is lard just like mayo and crisco. Sick.

Why is it bad? Firstly because when fat comes out, sugar goes in. Either that or artificial flavors and sweeteners.

Secondly, since many vegetables are fat soluble, taking away the fat from the dressing means fewer of the salad nutrients will be absorbed into your body.

This was confirmed by a study at Ohio State University wherein a higher fat salad dressing resulted in an increased uptake of the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene.

Instead choose: A salad dressing made with olive oil, or just use olive oil and vinegar as your salad dressing. If you try it you might like it.

7. Anything made with Soy

Why is it good? It’s not. But in the spirit of argument: vegetarians and vegans eat the stuff so they can get protein in their diets. Plus the stuff is apparently low in fat and an alternative to whey for the lactose intolerant.

Why is it bad? Straight up, soy is thought to be linked to increased estrogen in males and increased breast cancer in women. The estrogenic effects are sometimes said to merely be the presence of the phytoestrogens and estrogen mimicking compounds found in soy.

Because of these estrogenic compounds, infants in particular can be adversely affected in many negative ways from exposure to soy, including premature development in girls, and underdevelopment in boys.

Soy also promotes hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, and infertility just to name a few additional disorders. Phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are all highly present in soy products.

Some people are allergic to soy protein.

Instead choose: any high protein whole food such as brown rice, goats milk, coconut milk, almond milk, whole grains, nuts, seaweeds, seeds, beans, and lentils.

If you must have a protein powder, choose any of a variety of protein powders available on the market today, including whey and egg protein.

As a side note, goats milk is considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet today, so give it a try.

8. Yogurt cups, especially those with fruit at the bottom

Why is it good? Individually, fruit and yogurt are two of the healthiest food choices at the grocery store.

Why is it bad? Manufacturers load these products up with corn syrup, which effectively doubles the amount of sugar. All the better to entice kids to ask you to buy this crap.

Instead choose: Activia yogurt, which contains additional live active cultures to help your digestive system. Choose the Light version if you wish, but it is sweetened with sucralose (Splenda). 

9-11. Fruit Juice, Dried Fruit, and Fruit Cocktail

Why is it good? Well because fruit is good for you. It has a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; not to mention fiber.

Why is it bad? Fruit juice and fruit cocktail normally have sugar added. Some fruit cocktails come in a thick sugary syrup, and there’s more sugar in a glass of fruit juice than in a candy bar and as much as in a glass of soda (grape juice has about 40g of sugar in one serving). You get no fiber from fruit juice, and the stuff usually has preservatives added to it.

Dried fruit is similarly bad because it is also loaded with sugar, although not with added sugar. Think of it this way: take any fruit, which is naturally loaded with sugar, remove all the moisture thus shrinking it down to a fraction of its normal size, then sell it by the bucket load to consumers who don’t understand that this little tiny piece of fruit still has nearly all the calories and sugar of the original fruit!

Can anyone say “portion control”? What about “blood sugar coma”?

Instead choose: eat the whole fruit including the skin if possible, but limit it to one serving of fruit per meal/snack to avoid insulin spikes. If you must have fruit cocktail, choose one that comes packed in its own juices instead of syrup.

12. Smartfood (Cheesy Popcorn)

Why is it good? Because cheesy popcorn is oh so tasty.

Why is it bad? Because you are really just eating the popcorn equivalent of potato chips. Seriously, compare total calories and you will find that you are not saving much on the calorie front by eating Smartfood instead of chips.

Instead choose: get some spray butter, pop some plain popcorn, spray a light coat of spray butter on the popped corn, sprinkle various spices on the corn (but go easy on the salts), and shake it up in a bag. Now you have a low fat tasty treat.

Smartfood isn’t as bad as a candy bar or a Twinkie though, so go ahead and splurge every so often.

13. Beans packed in sugary syrups such as Boston Baked Beans

Why is it good? Baked beans are good for you because these types of beans are loaded with fiber

Why is it bad? The sugary syrup, just as much as in a can of soda, is just going to spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. This is never good for preventing heart disease or type II onset diabetes.

Instead choose: Red kidney beans. These things are packed with protein and fiber, and can be mixed with any sort of salad or pasta. Sometimes I enjoy kidney beans straight out of the can; no cooking, just wash and chow.

There are also several other kinds of high protein, high fiber beans, but they typically have to be cooked first. I say this because I tend to be lazy about cooking and I know you do too. Try cooking up some nice black beans; high in protein and fiber, low in everything bad.

14-20. Granola, White Pasta, Pasta Salad, English Muffins, Bagels, Croutons, and Pretzels

Why is it good? Granola has some fiber, pasta salad has some vegetables, croutons make our salad crunchy, english muffins are one step up from bagels, and pretzels are a quick low-fat snack.

Why is it bad? One word: carbohydrates. All of these foods are made with corn syrup and/or processed white flour. These foods will spike your blood sugar faster than Bruce Lee could have kicked you in the face. You also won’t get much nutrition in the way of protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals from any of these foods.

Instead choose: 100% whole grain or whole wheat pasta and English muffins for increased fiber and protein. Egg salad because, like it or not, eggs are good for you and are high in protein. Almond slices are high in omega-3 fats and are crunchy like croutons. Substitute healthy nuts for white starches whenever you can and you too can receive a 30% less chance of heart disease.

(Source: health-heaven)

Here are some exercises that will tone your oblique muscles. Once you start lowering your body fat (and removing those love handles), you (and others) will really notice the benefits of these exercises!

• Trunk Twist (3 sets of 10 - 15 reps per side)

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width and your knees slightly bent.
2. Place your hands in front of you with palms facing away from you (as if you’re about to push something away).
3. Twist your torso to the left, until your face (and hands) are facing in the opposite direction. (Don’t force yourself to go too far - you don’t want to injure yourself.).
4. Now twist all the way around to the right.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.

• Lying Twist (3 sets of 10 reps per side)

1. Lie on your back, with your arms stretched out to your sides, palms facing down.
2. Raise legs upward with knees slightly bent. Your legs should be almost at 90 degree angle from your body (i.e. almost straight up in the air, but bent slightly)
3. Lower your legs to the left side, so that your left, outer thigh touches the ground.
4. Now bring your legs up and lower them down to the right, until your right outer thigh touches the ground.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.

• Lying Leg Raise (3 sets of 10 reps per side)

1. Sit on a bench, holding the sides firmly.
2. Extend your legs out straight.
3. Pull your knees into your chest, squeezing your abs at the same time.
4. Hold for 2 seconds.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.

• Oblique Crunch (3 sets of 10 per side)

1. Lie on the floor with your legs bent, your feet flat on the floor. If you prefer, you can keep your legs bent at a 90 degree angle so that the bottom of your feet are vertical.
2. Place your hands on the back of your head, or if you prefer, cross them over your chest.
3. Lift your right shoulder blade off the ground moving your right elbow towards your leftknee. This results in a “twisting” motion, and is why this exercise is often referred to as a “Twisted Crunch”.
4. Feel the squeeze for a second.
5. Slowly return to the starting position.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for your other side (i.e. move your left elbow towards your rightknee)
7. Repeat steps 3 - 6 until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.

Once you become comfortable with these exercises, feel free to perform more repetitions per set. For example, when you can perform 3 sets of 10 oblique crunches easily, try 3 sets of 15 per side, or even 3 sets of 20

(Source: health-heaven)