While looking for interesting snack tidbits, I found this great website with contributors from all over the world! Even better, they're all kids...and the amazing and mouth-watering recipes they share are outstanding! Here's my favorite from Thanaa, in Egypt. The snack is called "Foul" but should translate into "Delish"! Give it a try and diversify your snacking!"Thanaa starts by opening a can of fava beans, heating them a bit, mashing the beans. It's probably best to ask an adult to heat the beans for you. Cut a tomato, green peppers, green onions, and olives (green or black). Add salt, pepper and cumin, little bit of lemon, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix together all ingredients, and enjoy!"

Check out the full website and all of the snack recipes that were submitted here.

Happy Mother's Day! As we all know, moms are some of the busiest people around. Successful dieting and taking are of one's self is difficult, and juggling the responsibilities of parenthood-as well as, often, a career-can make it seem impossible.But it is possible. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Make & keep delicious, healthy snacks on hand so that when you're starving, you don't end up gobbling down whatever fast food you can get your hands on. Yes, I know, this "tip" has been circulating dieting websites and blog posts forever. But here's the trick: make sure it's something you LIKE to eat. I tried to incorporate baby spinach and walnuts as snacks because they're heart-healthy, high-fiber, a great way to get antioxidants and sneak some extra veggies in as well. While I could eat spinach by the bag-and do, sometimes-the lonely bag of bulk walnuts sat...and sat...and sat. I tried roasting them, I tried spicing them, I tried everything but coating them in bacon fat and chocolate (and therefore obviating the point). I don't like walnuts. That's okay. But I did latch onto almonds and, most recently [...]

Forgot to toss a package of your favorite Glenny's Soy Crisps into your bag on your way out today? Need a treat to polish off lunch, but that fabulous 100 Calorie Brownie you SO enjoyed yesterday was the last one in the box? Fear not; avid snackers and diet-trackers alike can keep their rumbling tummies happy with some excellent recommendations to keep portions in control by using, simply...your hands and fingers. Check out the recommendations in this awesome article from WebMD, as well as a list of 20 100-calorie snacks below. Snack on!
For portion control: The palm of the hand is usually a 3-ounce serving; a tablespoon is about the size of the last digit on your thumb; and if it's a long item, like string cheese, an ounce is about the length of your forefinger.
20 ways to enjoy a 100-calorie snack:
1. Half an apple with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
2. An orange and a few dry-roasted nuts
3. 10 cashew nuts
4. 10 almonds
5. 2 ounces of lean roast beef
6. Half a small avocado
7. 3 ounces cooked whole-grain noodles with 1 fresh tomato and 1/2 ounce hard cheese
8. 1 seven-grain Belgian waffle
9. 4 mini rice cakes with 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
10. 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese and 3 whole-wheat crackers
11. 1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing with mixed raw veggies
12. 6 Wheat Thins crackers with two teaspoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter)
13. 1 small baked potato with 1/2 cup salsa and 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream
14 [...]

The New York Times recently ran an interesting article bemoaning the increased incidence of osteoarthritis (OA) in younger populations, citing studies that show more and more people getting OA--and the requisite artificial joints that come with it--at younger and younger ages. As the child of an avid cyclist and former triathlete who has now had both hips replaced, I sat up and took notice of this article. I run, I rock-climb, I commute almost everywhere by bicycle...in short, I live a pretty active life. Here are the suggestions from the article about what you can do to avoid creaking joints and joint replacement:(excerpted from The New York Times Health section, Friday, April 23, 2010, article by Lesley Alderman)
CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT The more you weigh, the more pressure on your joints, which can lead to joint damage. When you walk, each knee bears a force equivalent to three to six times the body's weight. If you weigh a mere 120 pounds, your knees are taking a 360-pound, or more, beating with every step.
GO LOW-IMPACT Although no definitive link has been found between osteoarthritis of the knee and running (or any other sport), sports medicine doctors discourage their patients from running on hard pavement, playing tennis on concrete or activities like skiing over lots of moguls.
AVOID INJURY Easier said than done, of course. But major injuries, typically the type that require surgery, greatly increase your risk for osteoarthritis.
GET FIT It makes sense. The better toned your muscles are, the less likely you [...]

OK, now that we've discovered the holy grail of cardiac arrests and know to steer clear pf KFC's new "epic" Double Down, let's get back to Fred's question. Eating well on the road can be trying at times: you're hungry, you're tired, and you don't feel like dealing with nutrition facts or analyzing menu contents. You need food, you need it now, and you'd like to try NOT annihilating your diet. Read on, traveler!

Check out the Rest Stop Survival Guide on the IndependentTraveler.com website. It pares down the available info on multiple major-chain restaurants to the healthiest selections available, wherever you are, in a few sentences per chain.
Keep a copy of Nikki & David Goldberg's "Healthy Highways" travel guide in your car at all times. Akin to a nutritional Bible for eating on the go, it lists vegetarian and health-food stores in towns across the country, so that if you find yourself able to pull into a town or city for awhile, you can index the closest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.
Plenty of store like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have their locations posted on their websites. If you have a smartphone, simply web-navigate your way to healthier eating. Ten minutes off the highway is worth the scores of calories and thousands of milligrams of sodium off your waistline.
Plan ahead. Few people just jump in the car and head off on vacation. You know you're going, so take the time to prepare foods that are easy, portable and good for [...]