Category: Nutrition Science

If you use Guiding Stars to help you select healthful food items for yourself or your family, you’re no doubt familiar with the concept of choosing more of the two- and three-star items. (Maybe you even make a game of it—seeing how close you can get to having all the items in your cart be either two- or three-star items!) It’s true, the double and triple-starred items have more of the healthy attributes most of us are looking for (fiber, vitamins and minerals) and less of the things that health authorities recommend we limit (added sugars or trans fats, for example). Making it a habit to aim your food choices at two- and three-star items is a smart shopping strategy for a healthful diet.

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Just when it seems like we’ve seen the peak of the pumpkin spice craze, another pumpkin-laced product pops up at the store. Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin (and the spices that typically go along with it), but let’s face it, these products are no substitute for something made with actual pumpkin in it! And most don’t taste like real pumpkin pie, which is what I hold as my standard. So, if you want something that tastes like pumpkin pie, your best bet is to cook something that contains pumpkin—no surprise there, right? Not only will you get the great taste that you’re craving this time of year, you’ll get some of the nutrition benefits of pumpkin, too.

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The convenience of a healthy, pre-made breakfast cannot be understated, especially when one wants to stay in bed until the last possible moment. And while the overnight refrigerator oats recipes were great in the summer, they’re not nearly as appealing now that the temps have dipped. That’s where your trusty slow cooker comes in. Lots of folks never think about using their slow cooker for breakfast, but I implore you to consider it. Here are a few ideas that may convince you to give it a try….

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It’s not a mystery as to why we are cooking less than we used to. There are many reasons: we have more convenience products available, more restaurants/takeout/delivery options, more women in the workplace, a bigger lack of cooking skills/knowledge, and more demands on our time while at home, to name a few. But if you’re among those who long to get back to home cooking and see its value, I’ve got some ideas for ways to help make cooking at home a habit again. (And if you want to learn more about trends in home cooking and the many valuable aspects of cooking at home, check out the Guiding Stars webinar on the topic here).

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What’s so special about the gut? In a word, lots. Where we used to concentrate mostly on food digestion and nutrient absorption when talking about the gut, we are now learning so much more about what goes on in the gut (and how it impacts the rest of the body) that gut-centered conversations are now frequently about the role of the microbiome in immunity, obesity and metabolism, allergies and more. What’s the microbiome? It’s the collective term for the trillions of microbes we all carry around with us in and on our bodies—primarily in our digestive tracts (sometimes referred to as the gut microbiome).

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When my children were younger they took a “home lunch” several times a week, and each day when they brought home their lunch box/bag I was happy to see that they had, in fact, eaten their entire lunch (usually). I was less pleased with the messes they left in those lunch boxes….which leads me to my topic for this blog—lunchbox food safety. Here are a few of the main things you can do to keep brown bag lunches safe for your kids (or you).

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If you’ve ever been looking for someone to help you or a family member with nutrition or an eating issue, you’ve probably noticed that there are quite a few choices available—and most of these folks have a set of initials behind their names. Some of these credentials are suspect (my tactful way to say that they are easily obtainable online with a credit card). Others are on the level, but how will you figure out which is which

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We’ve covered the topic of sugar (especially added sugar) quite frequently here on the Guiding Stars blog in the last couple of years because people want to know more about sugar, and because there have been several studies and recommendations about sugar that we have wanted to discuss and share with you. We even did a webinar on sugar (you can check that out here).

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