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.

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.

 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.

The ORAC assay test is one way to determine if a food, such as the Acai berry, has this antioxidant potential. Assays performed in a lab setting measured this product’s strong activity against radical and non-radical oxidants: the peroxyl, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals, peroxynitrite, and singlet oxygen.

There is a problem when the damaging effects of free radicals against pathogens or cancer cells are not properly managed. When that situation occurs, these same free radicals can cause oxidative damage to healthy cells as a by-product of their natural function in keeping us healthy.

Oxidative stress is really a name for this adverse effect of oxidants on a physiological function. This stress has been implicated in the progression of aging and disease. Evidence is mounting from studies worldwide, demonstrating that this stress can be reduced by antioxidants.

The USDA has used the ORAC assay to test all of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States for their antioxidant activity. The USDA reported that wild blueberries
and cranberries had the highest average ORAC value of any of the food tested. Cranberries was highest, with a total (hydrophilic and lipophilic) ORAC score of 95.

Now imagine this - tested freeze-dried Acai fruit pulp has a total ORAC value of up to 1,027, over ten times higher than the highest ORAC scores for any food at the time!

Essentially, this result makes Acai the bright star among other well known antioxidants, including blueberries, grapes, red wine, green tea, cranberries, blackberries, pomegranates, orange juice, and any of the exotic fruits from Asia, such as mangosteen, noni, or wolfbeny.

To insure that the results obtained for the Acai berry is accurate, and not forged, numerous samples have been tested over several years. Still, the outcome from each assay consistently shows that the Acai berry has the highest antioxidant activity based on the ORAC assay, of any food in the American diet. Not reliant on just the ORAC assay, continuation of its antioxidant capacity has been confirmed by the FRAP and TEAC assays as well.

Get Your Share of this Acai Superfood Today! Use This Special Offer that is running where you can a free trial of Acai Berry Select.

Further, these companies relied on studies out of Brazil, without performing independent studies to verify them, or study their own products to support any implied claims they were making. Instead, they primarily relied on folklore, which is not an uncommon approach used to market exotic foods.

Demand for the Acai berry has surged in recent years, bringing with it the attention of nutritionists and health care practitioners around the world. But more than anything, the media has played a major role in its popularity. Here are some samples of quotations about Acai that have appeared in various publications in recent years:

“…twice the antioxidants of blueberries and a taste like blackberries crossed with chocolate.” Time magazine, February 14, 2005.

“Rich in antioxidants and amino acids, Acai is thought to be one of the most nutritional fruits of the Amazon basin.” New York Times, August 4, 2004.

“For those put off by juiced wheatgrass and bored with low-carb bars, there is Acai. Acai…the purple fruit of the palmberry plant purportedly contains more antioxidants than red wine and has a beguiling berry-like flavor with intense chocolate overtones. ” The Washington Post, August 11, 2004.

“The latest look-better, live-longer superfood? It is the Acai fruit. It’s what Denise Richards swears by; what Kelly Slater downs before surfing competition. It’s Acai, a multipurpose megabooster berry that Hollywood has been hooked on.” People Magazine, January 30, 2006.

“Wheatgrass, protein shakes-so 2002. At juice bars and health stores around the country the hip new taste of Acai. Acai…packed with anthocyanins, the same anthocyanins that give red wine its health benefits.” The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2003.

“Acai is the fruit of an Amazonian palm tree with the nutritional content that makes other fruits blush with inadequacy.” The London Times, September 20, 2003.

“Acai pulp contains 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine; a synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health; and an almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.” NBC Today Show, November 26, 2007

In 2004, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, MD, author of The Perricone Promise, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where he told Oprah that the Acai berry is his number one choice as a “superfood” , because it was “packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.”

National television news shows have also given Acai coverage. For example, NBC TV’s The Today Show, reported that, “The Anomabi Indians have believed for centuries that Acai holds unique power…and is believed to help women alter birth and to give anyone who drinks it a burst of energy.”

Long working hours, money worries and caring for a family are just a few issues most of us have to contend with.

The “Stress Industry” is full of experts and products that promise you they’ll help remove all the stress from your life. Well unfortunately stress is here to stay and, short of death, there is no way to escape it. However there are steps you can take to remove a great deal of stress from your life, and help you cope better with any stress remains. I’m a big advocate of hypnotherapy and correct nutrition in dealing with stress, and in this article I am going to focus on the importance of nutrition

The first change you should aim to make is to reassess your drinking habits. I’m constantly amazed when I walk around town when I see people going about their business with an almost bucket sized cup of coffee in their hand.

Caffeine is a stimulant which causes anxiety, headaches, poor sleep and increases heart rate - effectively replicating the symptoms of stress! It’s not just coffee that contains high amounts of caffeine though, soft drinks are guilty as charged too. Couple the caffeine with the ludicrous volumes of sugar, additives and flavourings in soft drinks and you have a perfect recipe for a Stress Cocktail!

What am I going to tell you to cut next - alcohol?

Shockingly enough, no. When drunk in moderation, and emphasise the word moderation, studies show that alcohol can actually help reduce levels of stress. So if you feel like a glass of wine or a beer, go ahead…just make sure it doesn’t turn into three or more.

So what do I suggest you replace coffee and soft drinks with? If you guessed water then give yourself a gold star! Water replenishes the body and makes life much easier for every system that keeps you alive and well.

Six to eight glasses a day should get the job done and despite what bottled water companies tell you, tap water is just as healthy and mineral rich as the bottled variety. Not only will you feel better but you should save yourself a tidy bit of money on those $5 coffees too.

There are two vitamins which are especially important to keep yourself topped up on if you wish to reduce your stress levels and maintain it. They’re not hard vitamins to find in foods so this should be a doddle for you.

Vitamin C - Our adrenal glands produces a hormone called cortical, known by some as the “stress hormone”. Vitamin C is necessary in the production of cortical which keeps stress at a stable level. If you’re someone who can go from being perfectly calm to a stress monster in a matter of minutes then the chances are your diet is low on Vitamin C.

Vitamin C is plentiful in citrus fruits, potatoes, broccoli and leafy green vegetables.

Vitamin B - Serotonin levels rise when your diet is rich with Vitamin B. Serotonic is a neurotransmitter which keeps the mind calm while also aiding your quality of sleep.

Foods which contain Vitamin B include seafood, lean meat, dairy, eggs, wholegrains, nuts and pulses.

As an added bonus many of the above sources of Vitamins B and C also contain good amounts of magnesium which reduces irritability.

There it is, all the nutrients you need to reduce your stress. When you reduce your stress levels your immune system also improves. Not only will you feel more relaxed in general you’ll be less prone to illness. All that just from making a few changes to your drinking habits and adding a few nutrients to your diet!

Health Benefits of Plums

Plums provides proper nutrition to our good health. Dried plum for instant are packed with important vitamins and minerals like Potassium, Vitamin A, Magnesium, Iron and fiberto help us stay healthy, balanced and energized. It can improve our blood circulation by preventing platelet clotting.

Food that contains excessive fat, sugar and cholesterol, lack of exercises are the main cause of platelet clotting. These will subsequently attribute to several diseases like Artherosclerosis, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Coromary Artery Disease (Heart Attack).

Prevent constipation and clear toxins can reach permanent weight loss.

Plum contains Citric Acid that can effectively reduce and prevent tiredness and muscle-cramp. It helps to regenerate our body by disposing unwanted substances. It can also improve gastrointestinal and liver function and thus prevents constipation.

Eat Plum everyday towards a more healthy life

Research proved that by consuming the right quantity of the plums in our daily diet will significantly increase the dietary fiber, helping us achieving the dietary goal. It will prevent bone loss associated with estrogen loss at menopause, and prevent the rise in total of non-HDL blood cholesterol levels.

Connie Weaver and a team of researchers from Purdue University in the US studied calcium metabolism throughout people’s life cycle, particularly during periods of high demand such as adolescence.

The team is also researching the relationship between calcium intake and body fat maintenance in adolescents.

Professor Weaver, who heads Purdue University’s food and nutrition department, will present her work at the annual scientific meeting of the Nutrition Society of Australia in Adelaide on December 2.

She will discuss recent research among overweight and obese adolescents which found that increased weight (body fat) increases the need for calcium for healthy bones.

Because of the narrow window of time for achieving maximum bone density, Prof Weaver stressed how important it was for adolescents to maintain the recommended dairy food intake, even during low calorie weight loss diets, to protect bone health.

“We know for certain that calcium intake during the adolescent years can shape bone health for the remainder of a person’s life.”

“Most teenage children would benefit from the consumption of 3-4 servings of dairy products daily to protect bone health and to help manage healthy body weight,”

said Prof Weaver.

Dairy Australia dietitian Glenys Kerrins said it appeared that a large proportion of Australian boys and girls were not getting enough calcium in their diets.

In a national dietary survey conducted in 2007, only 18% of 14–16 year old girls consumed more than the estimated average requirement for this age group.

“The recent National Children’s Nutrition Survey¹ has shown this was particularly common among adolescent girls. Unfortunately, girls preoccupied with body shape might be more likely to exclude nutrient-rich dairy foods, which they incorrectly perceive as fattening,” she said.

Reference

1. 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Organisation (CSIRO), Preventative Health National Research Flagship, and the University of South Australia (available at www.health.gov.au/nutritionmonitoring).

(Source: Dairy Australia: November 2008)

Jenny Craig is pleased to announce the three grand finalists of their Ideal Size Challenge. Washington’s Debbie Heyer and Massachusetts natives Elaina Faustino and Sara Hennessy are the three women vying for the chance to appear in a national TV commercial with Jenny Craig star client, Valerie Bertinelli, and share their Ideal Size with the country.

Unlike the conventional view of size, Jenny Craig developed the Ideal Size Challenge to inspire women and men to stop looking at size as a number on the scale or a dress size, and to start seeing their Ideal Size as a significant achievement relating to how they would feel once they achieved their weight loss goal. Examples are “Size Healthier” or “Size Loving Life”.

“Ideal Size is as much about how you feel on the inside. It represents the complete transformation that weight loss can bring–improved health, energy, confidence and well-being,” says Scott Parker, Vice President of Marketing for Jenny Craig. “We want women and men to start defining size as something that’s unique and personal to them.”

Jenny Craig star client, and the face of the Ideal Size campaign, Valerie Bertinelli, has defined herself as a “Size Confident” urging more women to banish the numbers and start doing what feels right to them.

“I am so thrilled to see how far these women have come, and I know that their hard work and candor will inspire many others to throw out their antiquated ideas and stereotypes of beauty and body image,”

says Valerie.

The Finalists:
Just like Valerie, the three finalists have coined monikers that best represents how they categorize themselves after their weight loss efforts.

Debbie Heyer, a “Size Fit and Fabulous” has lost over 200 pounds on the Jenny Craig plan and is thrilled to be able to shop in any clothing store she wants to and has the freedom to travel without having to worry about being able to fit into an airplane seat. She now wakes up energized to run four miles, whereas in the past she dreaded climbing a flight of stairs.

Elaina Faustino, a “Size Noticeable” has tossed away the unhealthy mentality that she needed to starve herself and log hours on the treadmill in order to lose weight. Her weight loss on the Jenny Craig plan has caught the attention of her friends and family! They see her eating healthy well proportioned meals, volumizing her meals with vegetables, and getting her body moving, and the kudos keep on coming.

Sara Hennessy, our third finalist is a “Size Excellent.” She has almost reached her goal weight and celebrates all of the small victories she has experienced along the way, like standing front and center in her holiday picture instead of hiding behind her four children, or cutting her long hair that she felt “hid her fat” and donating it to Locks of Love for cancer patients.

About Jenny Craig:
Since 1983, Jenny Craig’s comprehensive food/body/mind approach to safe, effective weight management has helped millions of people worldwide learn how to create a healthy relationship with food, build an active lifestyle, and develop a balanced approach to living. With its individually tailored weight loss program, personal consultants provide clients with one-on-one support, tips and motivation, and Jenny’s Cuisine(TM) help them learn proper portion sizes and mindful eating.

Based in Carlsbad, CA, Jenny Craig, Inc. is one of the world’s largest weight management companies, with 687 company-owned and franchised Centres in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE Jenny Craig

REMEMBER : If you’re overweight than you should include this abs workout program into a total body workout. The body doesn’t lose weight locally - ever seen a fat person with a “six-pack”? - so you need to lose the excess weight first in order to reveal those sexy abs you actually have!