Does the Special K Diet Really Work?

 

Imagine losing 6 pounds in just 14 days. This is the promise of the Special K diet. Naturally with a claim this strong, people are skeptical. Read on to learn what exactly the Special K diet is, what its benefits are and whether or not it will work for you.

What is the Special K Diet?
The Special K diet is a unique diet that’s been enthusiastically promoted by Kellogg’s over the last few years.
Basically, it goes like this. You eat one bowl of Kellogg’s cereal with 2/3rds of a cup of skim milk alongside some fruit for two meals a day.
For the last meal of the day, you can eat anything you want. Fruits and veggies are okay to snack on throughout the day.
Benefits of the Special K Diet
The biggest benefit is naturally the weight loss. However, there are several other benefits of the Special K diet.
First of all, you’re only consuming about 1590 calories per day. Eating a good breakfast first thing in the morning also kick starts your metabolism.
Special K is also high in iron, riboflavin, rice and wheat. If eaten alongside with fruit which contain essential minerals and fiber, you have a very complete nutrition-filled meal.
Will the Special K Diet Work for You?
Just like any other diet, the most important factor is whether or not you actually stick to it. Even on just a physiological level, you’re simply guaranteed to lose weight if you’re only eating 1,590 calories.
Thousands have already tried the Special K diet with success. The real question isn’t whether or not the diet works; it’s whether or not you can work the diet.
If you can stick to it for two weeks, you will lose weight, plain and simple.
You now know what the Special K diet is, what the benefits of the Special K diet are and whether or not the Special K diet will work for you. Should you try it out? Only you can decide.

February 24th, 2009 | Posted in Diets | No Comments

How To Make a Bunny Rabbit Cake

For a little fun in the kitchen, consider adding a Bunny Rabbit Cake to your dessert plans. This simple-to-follow plan will be fun for you and the kids. You’ll be sure to have a great time making and dining on this special dessert. Here’s how to make a Bunny Rabbit Cake :

Materials:
Cake mix for 2 9" round cake layers
1 tub of whipped topping
1 package of baker’s coconut (approximately 2 cups)
1 small package of licorice whips (black or red)
1 handful of jelly beans or gumdrops

Tools:
2 9" cake pans
Knife to spread the icing

  1. Follow cake mix recipe. Make two 9" round cake layers per the cake mix recipe. Any flavor cake may be used, but yellow or white cake makes the fluffiest looking bunnies. Be sure to let the cakes cool completely before icing.
  2. Use one cake for the face. Place the cake on the center of your serving tray.
  3. Cut the second cake. To make a bow tie and ears, cut the cake using a template or cut two similar sized oval ears out of the sides leaving a bow tie shape in the center.
  4. Position cake into a bunny face. Start with the whole cake in the center and then position the ears at the top and the bow tie under the face.
  5. Attach the ears and bow tie. Using a bit of whipped topping, place it between the ears and face and between the tie and the face to help hold the cake pieces together.
  6. Frost the cake. Cover the entire cake top and sides with the whipped topping.
  7. Sprinkle the coconut. Lightly coat the entire cake with the coconut shavings to create the bunny’s fur texture.
  8. Make the face. Using the licorice whips, make the nose and whiskers for the face.
  9. Attach gumdrops or jellybeans to create the eyes and decorate the bow tie.

And this is how you make a Bunny Rabbit Cake. Simple,huh?

This quick and easy dessert takes only a few minutes of your time and will make your family smile. Be creative in the decorating or give the kids a chance to decorate their own special cake with little mess in the kitchen. This dessert is sure to find fans among all your guests.

December 23rd, 2008 | Posted in Food, Nutrition | No Comments

Eat Smarter and Conquer Your Food Addiction

The reason we use food as a source of comfort has been examined from every angle by individuals a lot smarter than me. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but I want to give you a few suggestions on how to deal with tackling a food issue.

1. Do not skip breakfast.

People are 75% more likely to overeat the rest of the day if they skip breakfast. Now, if you have a hard time wanting food in the morning, make a nutritional smoothie: Throw in some frozen fruit, greens, protein powder, a little almond butter for satisfying fat and your liquid of choice. Oatmeal is an easy one in the morning. I have said this a lot, but remember that sugary cereal (aka cardboard with sugar) and bagels are not breakfast. Boil eggs and eat with a slice of toast or some avocado. Get your day started right.

2. Bored at work or home? Find a distraction other than food.

If you’re at work and have a break, go for a walk or bring a healthy snack to eat. If you’re doing "the kitchen roam" and find yourself with the fridge open, call a friend or give yourself an indulgent 10 minutes online. This will be one of the only times I say this, but go look up something silly or even informative online to distract yourself from food.

3.  Eat only when you are hungry.

Don’t just mindlessly shove food in your face because it’s something to do. If you can not stop eating when you are bored, then try substituting it with a new habit.

4.  Eat until you are full.

Put it in front of me and I will eat it. Hey, I was always taught to clean my plate, so of course I will eat until all my food is gone, even if it’s long after I’m full. Either control your portions, or buy smaller dinner plates. If you are out to eat, (even if it feels
tacky) have them put half your food to go as soon as you get it.  

5. Avoid fast food and vending machines.

This never ends pretty. Most of the food is fattening, tastes really good (so you overeat), and doesn’t have much nutritional integrity. It’s like dating a hot male or female that you know is psycho. Fun, exciting, but not going to end pretty. If you are on the road and have no other options, then try to pick the best of the bad. Don’t super size your order and avoid fried anything, sodas the size of 5 gallon buckets with a free refiill, and bread. In general, reach for chicken, salads, and, if you can, drink water.

6. If you are stressed out or having a personal crisis reach for the phone, not food.

Call a good friend or ask someone to go on a walk in a peaceful place so that you can vent. Don’t sit at home, alone, crying into a bowl of ice cream.

7. Find other things social to do that don’t always involve food.

This is tricky because when you look at how we structure our days and lives, a lot of social interaction is around food. That’s fine, but create a strategy for where you meet and eat. If you can combine it with some exercise and a healthy meal after, even better! This will provide a positive example for everyone.

8. Write it down. Keep a food journal.

You will be able to pin point exactly what foods and beverages are getting you where.

9. Have some fun.

Don’t take your eventual problems THAT seriously. Do the right thing 80% of the time AND YOU can have some fun the other 20%. Moderation, not denial.

December 18th, 2008 | Posted in Food | No Comments

Top 10 diet tips I don’t follow

Oh, the no-no’s of healthy living. It seems as if everywhere I look, I’m faced with the same suggestions on how to lose weight, be healthier, and have more energy. But, when I read the behaviors to avoid, I think: I do that, what’s so wrong with that?

 I consider myself a fairly healthy person, I have my fair share of energy, I’ve lost weight. I should get a gold star from the diet gods. But alas, we’re just not meant to be; we differ on too many things.

Top ten so-called diet faux pas that I remain completely unapologetic about:

10. Drinking my calories. Something tells me that the smoothies I’ve come to depend on during the summer months for cool portable meals are not contributing to an unhealthy lifestyle.

9. Eating dinner in front of the television. I was considering spending a nice evening at home, eating dinner and talking to the imaginary family of five I have, but they were watching TV too and asked that I please shut up.

8. Preferring the treadmill to the great outdoors. The benefits of outdoor running are touted everywhere, but uh, it’s not air conditioned outside, and it’s hot out, and there’s no TV floating in front of me to distract me from the fact that I am running.

7. Actually putting the salad dressing on my salad. I like food to be easy. I really don’t want to have to spend my mealtime creating some sort of salad dressing dipping dance. But if it will make the diet gods happy, I promise I will use good fats in my salad dressing.

6. Thinking coconut water is nasty. Okay, so this stuff is nature’s Gatorade, or whatever, but as far as I’m concerned, it tastes like dirty gym sock water. I’m way keener on the chocolate-milk-as-thirst-quencher idea.

5. Eating my food on normal-sized plates. It’s just so sad…a wee little meal. I want to look at my food and think, this is going to nourish me, not I’m going to starve to death. If I want to utilize my salad plates, I’ll eat a salad.

4. Salt. Apparently salt makes you retain water and is therefore evil. But wait, aren’t we comprised of 61.8% water? What’s amazing about the human body is that it totally knows how to regulate itself and water retention is generally short lived due to our handy-dandy excretory system. Nature, you so crazy; I think I wanna have yo baby.

3. Egg Yolks. I eat them. They taste good. The yolk is actually where most of the nutrients in the egg are. The vitamins choline and boitin are found in egg yolks and are vital in maintaining neurotransmitter health, which helps you concentrate and can actually help regulate cholesterol. So there.

2. Eating lunch during my lunch break. Yes, I could use this one hour break I have during the day to burn a couple hundred calories on a stroll around the city but I’d rather use it to EAT MY LUNCH.

1. Carbohydrates. When did carbs become the Darth Vader of food? Carbs are great. Carbs release serotonin into your blood stream: carbs are nature’s happy pill.

I don’t know who Harvey Steiman is, but apparently he said, "Everything in moderation–including moderation," and that’s pretty much how I feel about diet advice. There’s validity in everything, but all advice should be taken with a grain of salt, and without fear of bloating.

December 17th, 2008 | Posted in Diets | No Comments

Acai Has The Highest Antioxidant Capacity of Any Fruit or Vegetable

Free radicals are reactive unpaired electrons (called oxidants) that can have acute or chronic adverse effects on normal physiological function. This negative effect is referred to as oxidative stress. The main role of antioxidants is to interact with excessive free radical activity, and mop up or quench these free radicals so they are rendered harmless. Read the rest of this entry »

December 8th, 2008 | Posted in Food, Nutrition | No Comments

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