This is Part 2 in our blog series exploring the origin of low- and no- calorie sweeteners and their impacts on health.
Lowdown on Low- & No-Calorie Sweeteners: Part 2
Category: Nutrition Science
Lowdown on Low- & No-Calorie Sweeteners: Part 1
The ability to cut calories by reducing or eliminating sugar in foods and beverages has been the driving force in developing both low and no-calorie sweeteners as well as more products that utilize them. It’s safe to say that interest in lower calorie, sugar-free beverages and foods shows no signs of declining any time soon.
How Does Guiding Stars Rate Recipes?
If you’ve ever shopped “by the stars,” you already know how handy it is. Lots of foods in the store are labeled with their Guiding Stars 1, 2, or 3-star rating. Choosing more 2 and 3-star rated foods allows you to skip the in-depth label reading. You can easily put more nutrition in your cart. But what about putting more nutrition on your plate? There are only so many foods that we eat simply as they are. (Shout-out to baby carrots, my go-to do-nothing veggie side!). This is especially true if we are making an effort to purchase whole or minimally-processed foods. In other words, we often have to cook our food and combine ingredients together in recipes. How do we make sure our meals earn Guiding Stars too? Lucky for us, the Guiding Stars has roughly 1,200 star-earning recipes on the website!
Cooking For a Veggie-Hating Adult? Don’t Give Up!
Do you cook regularly for someone who bristles at Brussels sprouts or shudders at spinach? If so, you know how frustrating it can be to get well-rounded meals onto the table. Taking advantage of seasonal or local produce offerings is even harder. It can be enough to cause even the most patient meal planner to want to throw in the towel. But, like I wrote last year when I covered how to handle veggie-shunning kids, you don’t need to resign yourself to never-ending sides of potatoes or corn.
Personalize Your Plate
I LOVE this year’s National Nutrition Month® theme because it speaks to the fact that we are all unique beings and our physical needs and food preferences do vary. But what does “Personalize Your Plate” really mean, and how exactly does one achieve a personalized plate?
Love Your Family, Feed Them Well
Lots of people show love through cooking or providing food for others. It’s an act of love as old as humankind. Feeding a baby is one of the first acts of love a mother bestows on her child. Helping an aged parent get a spoonful of soup to his or her mouth is a tender and touching turnabout that many of us experience. Throughout the lifecycle, we have many and varying opportunities to demonstrate our love and care through nourishment. Nourishment itself, however, goes further than nutrition, of course. Feeding the loves in our lives provides benefits you might not have considered.
Can Guiding Stars help me with food choices for diabetes?
Having diabetes is hard enough. Layer on food shopping questions about which products the best choices to help manage the condition and, well, it can make feeding yourself (or your loved one) a big, intimidating job. If you’re looking for an easier way to make food choices for someone with diabetes, Guiding Stars is here to help!
The new USDA Dietary Guidelines—what’s new?
The release of updated Dietary Guidelines happens every 5 years. This allows improved scientific findings to be folded into the USDA’s healthy eating recommendations. At Guiding Stars, we closely examine updates to these guidelines. We’ll share what’s changed, and how you can fold the new recommendations into your eating patterns.