Blog Posts by Tips on Healthy Living

By Kristin Harmel
Author of The Sweetness of Forgetting
You've likely heard advice about eating like a French woman in order to avoid gaining weight, or tips about dressing like a French woman in order to fit in to any style situation. But there's another area in which our French counterparts excel too: personal finance. "Simply put, the French do not purchase nor consume anything in excess," says Slavica Monczka, creator and host of the Seductively French TV series.

Nor do they spend above their means, for the most part, says Andrew Schrage, co-owner of Money Crashers Personal Finance. "If you don't have the money," he says, "the French would tell you: Don't spend it." Simple as it sounds, practical advice like that can be the key to long-term financial stability-a secret that French women have long been privy to. After all, it's chic to be smart with your money.

Don't run up debt on your credit card. "The French are champion savers and depend very little on credit card

Got a special occasion where a standard glass of wine or vodka and cranberry just simply won't do? This beautiful cocktail will thrill guests at a bridal shower, birthday bash, or girls' night in. From Tori Spelling's CelebraTORI: Unleashing Your Inner Party Planner to Entertain Friends and Family.

INGREDIENTS
Vanilla icing
Sanding sugar, blush or light pink
2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce cranberry juice
1-1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar (sweeten to your taste)
1/2 ounce half & half
Optional: 1/2 ounce almond liqueur or 1/2 ounce amaretto

1. Ice the rim of a martini glass with vanilla icing and dust with blush or light pink sanding sugar.

2. Combine all other ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into the martini glass. Top it off with a cocktail pick skewering a small piece of angel food cake iced with white frosting.

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By Nell Stephenson
Author of Paleoista
Following the Paleo Diet is not just a way to reach one's healthy, lean body weight. It also happens to be an excellent conduit to addressing symptoms of autoimmune disease, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid disease.

Autoimmune diseases are the third most common class of illnesses in the U.S., and women make up nearly 80 percent of those who suffer from them, according to Dr. Loren Cordain, the father of Paleo, in his latest book, The Paleo Answer.

I've worked with many clients who've found tremendous relief-and sometimes complete cessation of their symptoms-once they cut out the dietary culprits that can make day-to-day living a painfully excruciating existence. The bottom line is that the Paleo Diet is a very alkaline and anti-inflammatory diet.

When we cut out grains, we stop the process known as "leaky gut," which occurs as a result of ingesting the anti-nutrients found in even the

Gluten-free cooking is becoming more common as more folks discover they have food allergies. Chloe Coscarelli, the first vegan chef to win top prize on the Food Network's Cupcake Wars, shares her must-have gluten-free ingredient substitutes. Are they in your kitchen yet? From her debut cookbook, Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way.

If you are preparing a recipe for yourself or someone else with a food allergy, check all ingredient labels carefully to make sure that they are allergen-free. It is up to the consumer to avoid ingredients that contain allergens, allergen derivatives, or have been exposed to cross-contamination.

GLUTEN-FREE SUBSTITUTES

Flour
Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour is an excellent product that can be used in many of my sweet and savory recipes calling for flour. It is made from a blend of garbanzo flour and potato starch, and can be found at your local grocery store or ordered

Were you spanked as a child? Many of us were. A proponent of nonviolent discipline, Mayim Bialik shares the repercussions of hitting children and argues against three common reasons why some parents spank their kids. From her book, Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way.

1. "I have wild/hyper/crazy kids." Gentle discipline and using methods other than violence against your child are appropriate for every kind of child, no matter their temperament. There is no such thing as a child who deserves to be hit, or who cannot be parented without being hit. In some cases, an assessment by a child psychiatrist may be helpful, but hitting does not help children whom you already deem as difficult; in fact, it may make things worse.

2. "I am too overwhelmed to do it any other way." The commitment not to hit your children works if you have one child or if you have ten. If you cannot handle the stress of having a large family

No two weddings should ever be alike. Think outside the box in terms of vows, music, and cultural traditions, says expert wedding planner David Tutera of WE tv's The Wedding Planner and author of My Fair Wedding: Finding Your Vision... Through His Revisions!

Incorporate traditions based on religion, culture, or folklore into the content of your ceremony. There are endless symbols, customs, and practices that can be used to help define the bride and groom-such as lighting a unity candle, breaking the glass, jumping the broom, or pouring two colors of sand into one bottle. It's even more interesting when you're mixing more than one religion, culture, or custom into your wedding. Also, don't be afraid to tweak any of these traditions to make them truly your own.

Use music to tell your story. Hire a talented friend or a professional vocalist to bring life to a piece of music that is meaningful to you and your groom. Always think about how you can share something about yourselves

The next time you head to the mall, consider this: The average family spends nearly $2,000 a year on clothes! These strategies will help even the most fashion-conscious reduce spending, says Alice Wood, author of Wealth Watchers: A Simple Program to Help You Spend Less and Save More.

1. Don't spend more money than you have. If you buy something for 85 percent off the retail price, but put it on a credit card and wind up paying for it over time, you could find yourself actually spending the retail price many times over!

2. As with groceries, don't shop without a list.

3. Go through your wardrobe before you go shopping. Recently, a woman told me that she has sixteen pairs of black pants in her closet. Another woman told me she has thirty pairs of blue jeans.

4. Clean out your closets and drawers. If it doesn't fit and it's not going to fit any time soon, then donate or sell the item. If you don't wear it and you're not going to wear it any time soon, then it goes in

By Valaer Murray
There's a new cooking oil on the scene, and it's making quite a splash. With the recent buzz about coconut oil, we had to see for ourselves how this new "superfood" actually fits into our culinary repertoire. Sure, using it is said to regulate blood sugar and help with weight loss, but making it work in the kitchen takes some forethought. Though subtle, its nutty, creamy taste doesn't pair with everything, so envision dishes that combine sweet and savory flavors and or use it when cooking proteins like chicken, pork, tofu, shrimp, and fish.

Coconut oil is a natural choice for baking, especially in desserts that you are trying to put a healthy spin on, like these vegan oatmeal cookies from Oh She Glows. But knowing it would be a shame to stop there, we thought the next logical step would be breakfast foods. Indeed, our experiment using virgin coconut oil to fry up some blueberry pancakes was a complete success.

The trace taste of the oil enhanced the