Blog Posts by Tips on Healthy Living

When you're having friends over at the last minute, follow these tips, tricks, and easy, always-pleasing appetizers that take only minutes to prepare from Katie Lee, author of The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everyday Occasions.

IN THE BAR
It's cocktail hour somewhere! And having a versatile bar makes it that much more fun when guests arrive. In addition to spirits and mixers, it's a great idea to keep a drink-mixing guide by the bar in case someone requests a cocktail you're not familiar with.

• bourbon
• vodka
• light rum
• gin
• tequila
• vermouth
• mixers (tonic, seltzer, juices)
• tools (ice bucket and tongs, shaker, strainer, two-sided jigger, bottle opener)

HORS D'OEUVRES ON THE FLY
If I'm having friends over for drinks last minute, these are my go-to hors d'oeuvres. They take only minutes to prepare and are always a hit and appropriate for any occasion.

• Wrap store-bought breadsticks in prosciutto.

• Fill

A life uncluttered with toxic relationships is a tall order. Providence seems to toss all sorts of challenges our way. But life is too precious to squander even a minute of it in the company of spirit-vampires. From Unclutter Your Life by Katherine Gibson

Healthy relationships resonate with harmony. They're dynamic, fun, and unwavering. They are loyal, gentle, and balanced. They're full of hearty hugs, surprise celebrations, and unconditional support. They're layered with love and laughter and they give and they take. And while they aren't all things at all times, they sweeten life like nothing else can. Caring friends are "earthly angels."

The rest -- the folks who taint our souls and steal our joy -- are simply clutter.

CLUTTER BUSTERS

• Know yourself. Define what qualities matter in your life and in your friends.
• Do your homework. Understand what makes a healthy relationship and why you might attract or be attracted to people who do not honor you.
• Choose

Control your weight, protect your bones and muscles, and fight disease -- all through mindful eating. From Muscle Medicine: The Revolutionary Approach to Maintaining, Strengthening, and Repairing Your Muscles and Joints, by Rob DeStefano, D.C., Bryan Kelly, M.D., and Joseph Hooper.


Fortunately for us, there isn't one way to eat to control weight, another way to support bones and muscles, and another to fight disease. Healthy eating is healthy across the board. In the past decade, scientists have arrived at a consensus about what an optimal diet should look like. The two diets that have been most intensively studied, and heartily endorsed by researchers, the Mediterranean and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), dovetail on the basics: heavy on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and light on sugar, salt, and animal fat. (The DASH emphasizes calcium, which, as we'll discuss, is good for the musculoskeletal system.)

Let's break it down. Everything you consume falls

Learn how to overcome obstacles to weight loss by understanding your true diet personality. From Escape Your Shape: How to Work Out Smarter, Not Harder by Edward J. Jackowski, Ph.D.

To attain your weight-loss goals, you must first accept the fact that you can't take off those unwanted pounds, much less keep them off, without proper and regular exercise. But don't despair, once you come to terms with this, you can explore options that fit your lifestyle and motivation level. You can lose weight without starving yourself or knocking yourself out mentally and physically at the gym.

When you're trying to lose weight, it's important to understand yourself and, more important, embrace what you actually do rather than what you think you're going to do. In order to lose weight, you need a plan that includes a doable exercise routine and reasonable limitations on what you eat. Are you really ready to embrace both? If not, make an honest self-assessment. Some of you love to exercise

The informal education that happens before your child steps one cute, little foot into school is crucial toward developing a healthy and happy child. These tips and strategies will provide knowledge and techniques you can use to create the ultimate learning environment for your child. From YOU: Raising Your Child by Drs. Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Oz

Emphasize Play, Not Success. While it's true that kids follow the same basic learning patterns, it's also true that there are many nuances. Some kids learn better by hearing and seeing the information, while others learn by doing and practicing. No matter the method, what's really important is that you encourage your child to play with objects safely and explore the world around him. The point isn't to measure success or failure; it's to let him engage his intellectual curiosity. At this age (under five), that will create a stronger foundation for learning than drilling your youngster on any particular task.

Read It Loud and

Structure the way you eat and the excess pounds will begin to disappear, according to Gerard J. Musante, founder of The Structure House Center for Weight Control and Lifestyle Change, and author of The Structure House Weight Loss Plan.

Structured Eating is the eating you do each day to achieve two purposes: first, to nourish your body; and second, to maintain a desired level of weight. In practical terms, this means:

• Three nutritious meals a day consumed in appropriate portions
• No eating between meals
• No eating after dinner

These guidelines also mean an appropriate level of calories of balanced nutrition per day (determined on the basis of your sex, height, weight, medical condition, and age). This is food you need in order to stay alive, stay healthy, and achieve a desired level of weight.

Structured Eating Is More than Just Good Nutrition
The field of nutrition has done a fine job over the years of defining what our bodies require, so proper

Making a change in the world can be an easy part of your everyday life. Here are 10 ways you can make a difference. From Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life by Zoe Weil

1. Commit to the 3 I's: Inquire, Introspect, live with Integrity. Expose yourself to information and ideas about most good (MOGO) living by talking to and learning from people from all walks of life -- especially people who are also trying to do the most good and the least harm; by reading widely and deeply; by visiting websites aimed at making a difference; and by viewing relevant films. You can find a list of regularly updated websites, books, magazines, and films in the resources section at HumaneEducation.org. Then introspect: identify your values, consider what is most important to you, assess your talents and interests, and seek out ways to put these together practically and productively. Finally, live with integrity. To the best of your ability, put your values

Spend just one hour a day for six days focusing on yourself, and you can solve your problems of overfat and unfit forever. Here's how, from motivational speaker and New York Times bestselling author Susan Powter's book The Politics of Stupid: The Cure for Obesity

Time, like motivation, is something you've been looking for everywhere... more of it. Much, much more, because if you could find (same language) the time you would certainly start doing a whole lot of things you know you should be doing... if only you could find the time. Time and looking for more of it is another one of those very well planned detours. A detour that has millions of people looking for something that doesn't exist. More time in your own life, for your life.

Listen to the language, ladies. Time management. Unabashed in the language that describes what you are looking for. Time management... as if there is such a thing! My peers in the motivational-speaker world would have you believing that time can