Foodie Friday: Ian’s Animal Cookies
Are you kids begging for something sweet in their lunches? Pack a few of these delicious gluten-free cookies to give them the taste of homemade treats without too much added sugar or fat.
The product: Ian’s Animal Cookies ($3.99 per box; available online and at retailers nationwide)
The taste factor: Buttery, with the slightest crunch. Though these cookies are gluten-free, they have the same authentic sweet taste of regular animal cookies. Unlike Barnum’s Animal Crackers, which are softer, these bite-size treats have a slightly crispier texture with an authentic cookie taste.
The health factor: These sweet, gluten-free nibbles aren’t particularly healthy (they can be served as dessert), but they are low in fat and sodium, have a reasonable amount of sugar, and contain 2 grams of fiber per serving. Plus they are preservative-free, and at 130 calories per serving, you’re getting dessert guilt-free.
Why we love it: If kids are going to eat something sweet, these delicious cookies are a smart choice. Whether you have food allergies or not, we promise you’ll devour this dessert.
Previous posts Foodie Friday posts:
11 Healthy Trifle Recipes
These easy dessert recipes combine cake, fruit, and a little bit of cream to make a treat that’s delicious and diet-friendly. Ease your sweet tooth with 11 low-cal indulgences. View slideshow.
10 Oddly Insured Celeb Body Parts, Sleep Disorder Linked to Dementia, and Healthy No-Bake Cookies
- Turns out happiness isn’t about how many gold stars you get after all. A recent study found connecting with people gives us more joy than our individual accomplishments. [Lemondrop]
- Despite advances in research, no one is really sure what exactly causes dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This sleep disorder may be a new angle to consider. [Huffington Post]
- Aching for a sweet treat but can’t bear to turn on the hot oven? Try these healthy no-bake cookies! [Vitamin G]
- Lunges can help you sculpt powerful legs and a tight booty, but these five variations on the basic lunge can produce even greater results. [FitSugar]
- No matter how awkward your early teen years were, you must have had an easier time fitting in than this Brazilian teen, who is one of the tallest in the world at 6 feet 9 inches. And she’s only 14! [AOL Health]
- You walk facing traffic, you bike with traffic. What side of the road should you run on? [That’s Fit Canada]
- Professional football player Troy Polamalu recently insured his hair. For $1 million. While that’s shocking, he’s not the only celeb to take precautions. Here are the top 10 oddly insured celebrity body parts. [Time]
- Knowing your family’s medical history isn’t just for show—it can help you prepare for and prevent health problems down the road. Here’s what you need to know. [Fox News iMag]
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Ready, Set, Glow! Flattering Fall Makeup
Everyone looks better in candlelight. But until the world’s fluorescent lights are replaced with votives, we need an easy way to fake that gorgeous glow. Enter fall’s hot new makeup look: a wash of gleaming satin-finish shades that give you the same soft radiance.
“The look of satin-finish makeup is really modern, and the reflective quality actually diminishes the appearance of fine lines,” notes Sarah Lucero, Stila celebrity makeup artist.
Plus, the new formulas and colors are so sheer, “you can use them all over your face—eyes, cheeks, lips—simultaneously, without it looking as if your features are competing for attention,” says Dick Page, Shiseido makeup artistic director.
Read on for tricks and product picks to help you pull off two great versions of the look: a subtle take for day and a richer, more dramatic one for night.
Eyes
Prep lids first
Before applying shadow, tap a small dab of foundation or eye shadow primer—try Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion ($18; sephora.com)—from lash lines to creases. This helps color last longer and prevents creams from creasing by absorbing your skin’s natural oils.
Pick one color family
“You want an all-over, soft, velvety finish with a gradation of color, not contrasting shades,” Lucero explains. Working with liquid or cream shadows, apply a light shade as a base from lash lines almost to brows, then blend a slightly darker hue along creases and—if you want extra definition—an even darker color along lash lines.
Next page: Cheeks
Food Label Know-How: 5 Mistakes Even Savvy Shoppers Make
The food label can be, well, boring, and it can also be very confusing. I don’t know anyone who has the time to read the fine print and scour the Nutrition Facts panel for everything he or she is dropping into the shopping cart.
A recent study looked at how many Americans use the food label and which parts of the food label. The study found that approximately 62% reported using the Nutrition Facts panel, 52% looked at ingredients, 47% looked at serving size, and 44% read the label’s health claims before purchasing.
When the researchers compared label users to nonusers they found—unsurprisingly—that the diets of label readers were lower in total calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
In order to have a healthy diet, it’s essential to have healthy foods on hand, and the only way to really make sure of that is to read the food label for some key facts before buying. I’d recommend focusing on the serving size and calories if you’re going to look at just two things before buying.
And, even as a dietitian, I have to marvel at the ingenious ways food manufacturers take advantage of the food label to make products appear healthier than they often are.
Here are five ways shoppers are destroying their diet, despite their best efforts to use the food label to make healthier choices.
1. “All natural” and “organic” is more nutritious
The USDA organic certification program requires foods and beverages that are labeled organic to follow organic protocols with production. The program does not have any requirements related to the nutrition of the product. The term “natural” or “all natural” has no definition, so manufacturers can use it as they wish. There is no indication that a food product is nutritious just because these terms are on the package. Check the calories per serving and the first three ingredients. If the product seems within your calorie budget and the first three ingredients seem healthful, then buy it.
2. Percent Daily Value is for foods high in nutrients
Many shoppers scrutinize the % Daily Value figures for things like vitamin C and E, but nutrient deficiencies are not an issue for most Americans. Instead, focus your attention on core areas that can really make a difference in your health: negative nutrients. Read the label for calories, saturated fat, sugars, and sodium and try to choose products that minimize these negative nutrients.
3. That’s a single serving!!
If you purchase a food that appears to be a single serving, be sure to check the Nutrition Facts Label to see how many servings the manufacturer says the package contains. People in the study who reviewed the product’s serving size before purchasing consumed 150 fewer calories per day compared to those who didn’t read the labels. That could add up to a 15-pound weight loss in one year.
4. “Made with whole grain” means it’s primarily whole grain
Not the case. Many companies claim that their products are made with whole grains, but the main grain is often refined flour. To ensure that you’re buying a product that contains a significant amount of whole grain, choose one that has whole wheat, oats, or another whole grain as the first ingredient.
5. “No HFCS” indicates it’s low in sugar
A sweet mess many shoppers find themselves in is when they avoid products that have HFCS, only to choose those loaded with other negative nutrients like saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. The jury is still out on whether or not HFCS is worse than other added sugars, but a diet rich in any type of added sugar is not healthy. So look for the added sugar in a product, and if it’s more than 10 to 12 grams per serving, make it a special-occasion food or beverage.
To get more tips, read 11 Ways to Pick Out Healthy Food.
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Make healthy, kid-friendly meals using our delicious and nutritious recipes. We’ll teach you how to make sandwiches, pizzas, and even desserts that are not only appealing for kids to eat but also pack in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients they need. View the slideshow.
Is My iPod Making Me Deaf?
Roshini Raj, MD, is Health’s medical editor and co-author of What the Yuck?! The Freaky & Fabulous Truth About Your Body. Board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Raj is an assistant professor of medicine at New York University Medical Center and a contributor on the Today show. In our new book, Dr. Raj fields personal and provocative questions—about your body, sex, even celeb health fads.
Q: Is my iPod making me deaf?
A: You may have heard that one in five American teens suffer from hearing loss, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). That’s a 30% increase from just 20 years ago. What’s making all these teens deaf? Likely the same thing you’re worried about—iPods, concerts, and loud music. And while this study was specifically looking at teens, it serves as a warning for all of us who’ve been known to pop in some earbuds and rock out.
Audiologists and hearing experts have been sounding the alarm over hearing loss associated with MP3 players for a few years now. Twenty-six million adults have high-frequency hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noises—aka noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
The risk of hearing loss from an iPod depends on how loud you’re cranking it up. Most MP3 players have a maximum decibel level (decibels are how we measure sound) of 100, but a few independent studies have found that they can go as high as 120.
So what does that mean? Well, the sound of an ambulance siren is about 120 decibels. Would you listen to that for several hours every day of the week? (The average American who has an iPod listens to her iPod two hours every day.) Here’s another way to think about it: By law, employees exposed to on-the-job noise of about 115 decibels for longer than 15 minutes must have sound-protection equipment.
You might be saying to yourself, “Well, I only listen to it halfway up most of the time.” That’s good; it’s possible you’re not getting yours high enough to cause any damage (sounds below 75 decibels don’t usually harm hearing). But hearing loss can be the result of a one-time exposure to an intense sound, or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels. The louder the noise, the shorter the time period before NIHL begins. Have you ever turned your iPod up to rock out to your favorite Nirvana song? Or pumped up the volume to drown out background street noises? You may have permanently damaged your hearing.
To prevent further harm, always use the middle setting or lower on your iPod’s volume control. As a rule of thumb, if you are using earphones and someone next to you can hear your music (or worse—identify the song!), it’s too loud.
For more answers to embarrassing questions, check our out new book, What the Yuck?!
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