Tis’ the season for tricks and treats! Are you feeling uneasy with the haunting holiday of sweets approaching? Between keeping candy by the front door for the tricker-or-treaters and perhaps your own trick-or-treaters bringing home a pillow case full of sweets, this is an important time of the year to practice mindful eating. No need…

Wednesday is National Oatmeal Day! Plan to kick off the day with a large bowl of oatmeal to celebrate!  As the weather gets colder, the days get shorter, and the mornings get more brisk, this is the perfect time of year to start incorporating hot cereals like oatmeal into your daily routine.  The advantages of…

There are a lot of days throughout the year that are celebrated as national food days, but October 28th is a most important food celebration as we raise our ice cream cones to America’s favorite flavor: chocolate on National Chocolate Day!   Recently published data has actually found that chocolate is the most craved food…

October is National Apple Month!  Apples are surely nutritious and delicious.  They are a great source of fiber and Vitamin C to help keep you heart healthy while aiding in digestion. Another plus is that apples are inexpensive, easy to carry on-the-go, and are known as a natural mouth freshener!   This month is specifically…

The month of October has been chosen for more than 30 years to be National Popcorn Poppin’ Month in celebration of popcorn, one of America’s oldest snack foods. October was chosen because the popcorn harvest takes place each fall in the Midwest.   Popcorn is unique to other snack foods in that its roots trace…

Friday is World Egg Day.  Eggs are eaten all over the world, wherever they could be obtained.  The two most popular eggs to eat are chicken eggs, and in some parts of the world ostrich eggs.  Eggs have always been such a popular choice around the world because they are relatively easy to obtain, a…

5 Powerful Health Benefits of Tomatoes By Bonnie R. Giller, MS, RD, CDN, CDE and Charna Sheinfeld, Nutrition Intern Some pronounce it tomAYto, and some say tomOto, some believe it’s a fruit, while others argue that it’s a vegetable. But all must agree that tomatoes are a tasty superfood, chock full of nutrients that provide…

Overweight and obese individuals, as you know, are at a much higher risk of developing a host of health complications and diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than people who are at a normal weight.   However, new research indicates that the weight itself might not be the only factor.  You…

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  This month, we focus on increasing awareness to the public about this disease.  It is important to take time out to actively participate in learning ways to prevent, plan and detect the disease in its early stages to keep you and your loved ones healthy. Overall, Breast Cancer Awareness…

It is your morning side-kick, afternoon pick-me-up and the center for social gatherings, first dates, business meetings and the like.  There is no other beverage that has generated more popularity (and revenue) than coffee.  Whether your go-to coffee beverage is an Americano, latte, cappuccino, iced, decaf or just a classic medium roast, you can all…

September marks the beginning of a new school year and a change in weather as everyone seems to be gradually getting back into their busy routines of life. What better time to add a healthy breakfast to your schedule? This past Friday was Better Breakfast Day! I’m sure when you were younger your mother told…

Many would be completely turned off at the thought of eating a food from the fungi family, but not when it comes to mushrooms!  Mushrooms are the celebratory food of September as it is a special food that is neither fruit nor vegetable and offers health benefits outside the realm of nutrients produce has to…

The importance of healthy fats as a part of a nutritious eating plan is becoming more and more emphasized in the world of health and nutrition.  In celebration of National Guacamole Day, which is tomorrow, I am going to talk about one of the richest sources of healthy fats – the avocado!   Avocados are…

September is celebrated as Whole Grains Month in the world of food and nutrition.  Each year, there is a different theme. The theme for 2014 is “Make the Switch”.  As you can guess, this theme is referring to switching from refined grains to whole grains! Making the switch can be as simple and easy as…

Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are growing in popularity as millions of Americans choose to go meatless, whether because they are animal lovers or feel that eliminating meat from their diet is simply better for their health.  In hopes to bring attention to the vegetarian lifestyle, this week is recognized as Vegetarian Awareness Week.  Raising awareness…

Sunday September 7th is National Acorn Squash Day! Learning about and enjoying all the possibilities this unique type of squash has to offer is the perfect way to kick off the fall season.   As summer ends and fall quickly approaches, one of the things I automatically notice before the leaves start changing is the…

The Nutritional Power of Cauliflower Kale better brace itself because there is a new “it vegetable” in town and that is cauliflower! Because of its naturally mild flavor, cauliflower is extremely versatile. It can be roasted, broiled, cooked, and steamed. It’s wonderful eaten on its own, added to soups and salads, or even manipulated into…

Nuts come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are an important part of a healthy eating plan.  Though every nut has something special to offer, I am highlighting the macadamia nut in this post in celebration of National Macadamia Nut Day on September 4th.  While you often find macadamia nuts covered in chocolate…

I am excited to bring to you, my readers, a brand new series on my blog, called Monthly Morsels. This idea came to me as I was mentoring one of my nutrition interns, Charna Sheinfeld. Charna shared the following thought with me: “I remember as a child hearing the expression “you are what you eat”,…

August 31st is National Trail Mix Day.  I encourage you to get ingenious today and create your own version of a healthy trail mix! The beauty of this national food day is that you can put basically any combination of healthy treats in your mix and it will taste delicious.   National Trail Mix Day…