People who eat eggs for breakfast tend to eat less throughout the day, have more energy, and lose more weight.

Ingredients
1 egg

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 slice of reduced fat Swiss cheese
2 slices avocado
1 tbsp medium salsa
1 whole wheat English muffin

Directions
Lightly oil a small ramekin with some olive oil and crack an egg into it. Use a fork to scramble the egg a bit, or at least pierce the egg yolk so the egg won’t “explode.”

Ladle one tsp of salsa on top of egg and layer the cheese slice (folded in half) over it. Microwave on 50% power for 1 minute and 20 seconds (time may vary depending on strength of microwave).

Carefully remove ramekin from microwave – ramekin may be hot, use potholders if necessary – and let sit a few minutes to settle. Run a small knife around the rim of the cooked egg and gently invert over the toasted muffin half. Top with the remaining 2 tsp of salsa, remaining olive oil and slices of avocado, and the top half of the muffin.

Enjoy!

Known for her amazing recipes and calorie-cutting food delights, Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien has shared her tricks to cut half the calories from your favorite dishes. We all adore eating but hate to diet – that’s an absolute fact. Getting or preparing special diet foods is almost impossible when you have to go through a busy work and life routine. So why not have the same food we love but the healthier versions?

Here are the tips by Lisa that will help you enjoy food that will fill your tummy without caring too much about calories.

Taco and Ranch Season Mix: We all love adding up flavors but we have to be careful while choose the dips and dressings. Always use the low-sodium varieties of the seasonings making sure you are getting low calorie dressings and dips. Taco Seasoning can be perfect for any food – not just for Mexican food! This can be perfect for any faux-fried food that requires breading. Ranch seasoning can be perfect to create a low-calorie version of your favorite creamy dips. Mix reduced-fat mayo or reduced-fat sour cream with reduced-fat Greek yogurt and your ranch seasoning is ready!

Canned Fruits and Veggies: These can be really nutritious but all you have you do is choose the best options. Don’t go for fruits cans with a lot of added sugar; simply go with their own juices. For vegetables, go for the can packed in water instead of those in oil.

Canned Crushed Tomatoes: These are extremely tasty and add a lot of flavor to the food but make sure they are fat-free and low in calories and sugar – which they are! Use the canned crushed tomatoes to make substitutes in high-calorie pasta and pizza sauces. It is also a perfect replacement for marinara sauce and other jarred sauces. This way, you can avoid making sauces at home that are both time consuming and expensive.

Canned staple keeps things simple but healthy.

Reference: Hungry Girl’s Grab and Go Essential

Google turned off Shopping functions for vitamins, supplements and other healthcare products on 28 June, without advance warning or explanation.

For example, if you Google “vitamin C” the Web search returns 94.7 million results; if you then click on “Shopping” to find sellers, the shopping search returns zero results.

It’s as though no one’s allowed to sell vitamin C  via Google Shopping. Even “Bayer aspirin” is blocked.

Google publishes a list of products in this category that are blocked as a matter of corporate policy in the public interest. So shopping results for steroids are always blocked. We’re talking about something completely different here: Google is blocking whole categories of respected, brand-name products like One a Day vitamins from online shoppers for no stated reason.

We’re sellers of vitamins and supplements and trying to determine whether Google’s lack of results is a policy change or a goof, temporary or permanent. Of course, our business is severely hurt by this situation. We rely on Google — and pay them — for including our name among all other sellers, and all sellers are in the same boat.

Google, please don’t be evil. Be responsive to vendors whose businesses you’re kicking over. Tell us what’s going on by your blocking shopping results for vitamins and supplements.

Update : we have noticed even searches for shampoo or conditioner are are being blocked see blow video

Google shopping for vitamins with no results

some other interesting links regarding this topic

Google Shopping blocks all vitamins and natural products – glitch or deliberate censorship?

http://www.naturalnews.com/036726_Google_Adwords_FDA_censorship.html

http://govtslaves.info/google-bans-the-sale-of-vitamins-through-their-shopping-platform/

Dips, sauces, condiments and creams formations are the perfect choices to accent the dishes with. Without them, it is impossible to add excitement to the mealtimes but with them, avoiding those extra calories and fats from entering the body is not possible. This is where food aficionados get confused and either try making a compromise on good health or on that much dreamt of mealtime excitement. In order to avoid giving oneself a hard time and making compromises that one had no plans for, preparing a low fat and low-calorie Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip is an excellent idea. This dip is healthy for weightwatchers as well as all others and also tastes very fine. Complementing foods with it can make up for all the fun and excitement that food aficionados want.

Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip requires ¼ cup of frozen chopped thawed spinach, 4oz of reduced fat cream cheese, two tablespoons of water, ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese and 4oz of 2% Greek Yogurt. In addition, half diced tomato, 2 tablespoons of low-fat milk, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of ground black pepper to be made. The diced artichoke hearts will be added to the chopped spinach along with water in a microwave-safe bowl and given high heat for 5-6 minutes. Once taken out, the bowl will be wrapped in plastic and small holes will be poked in it for ventilation. Then all the other ingredients will be combined in a saucepan and the steamed spinach and artichoke mixture will be added to it. Medium to low heat will be provided to the mixture. Stir for ten minutes and the dip is ready. Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip is a perfect combination of fun, exotica, creamy and cheesy texture and good health and thus makes up for a very fine dip for weightwatchers. It can be served with crackers, raw sliced vegetables, pita chips, toasted bread or any other snack of choice. The dip adds an amazing taste to the snack whilst keeping the calorie intake highly controlled. One of the best ingredients in this dip is Greek Yogurt which is fast becoming the choice of many health conscious people. It is widely available all around the United States and with more than 28% of Americans now eating yogurt on daily basis, is being largely bought. Gradually, the market of this cheese is increasing. In Greece, the yogurt is manufactured from cow’s as well as sheep’s milk and both the versions are consumed at large. However, exports to the United Sates include only the versions that are made using cow’s milk as it suits the taste of local people more. Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip is made using this highly stained, protein rich yogurt that is fit for weightwatchers and diabetics.

However, everyone can use this yogurt as it is almost as much nutritious as the regular one. Since the Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip contains this yogurt, it is fit and healthy for all.  

Since quite some time now, Greek Yogurt has been in trend and people are increasingly coming out to question the different between the regular yogurt and the Greek one. It is important for people to know the difference between the two kinds of yogurts in order to be able to select the best one as both the yogurts are pretty healthy but it is the requirements of the consumer that help out in the selection. While going Greek might take in a little bit more money, it is worth it. However, this does not mean that the Greek version is healthier. It is just that the reason for being more expensive is justified.

Greek Yogurt is made using sheep or cow’s milk and is filtered to remove whey. Muslin, cheesecloth, paper bag or filter is used for the filtration process and in the process; more milk has to be added because in order to maintain the quantity and this makes the Greek version a bit more expensive. There is yet another reason for it being so expensive and that is the increasing consumer demand of the yogurt. Due to so much staining, the Greek version is much thicker in consistency as compared to the regular yogurt and has a consistency between that of cheese and yogurt. Protein is the only nutrient of which, the Greek yogurt contains a higher amount as compared to the regular yogurt. All other nutrients such as carbohydrates, calcium and sodium are higher in regular yogurts. Regular yogurts are also higher in carbohydrates and hence, the Greek version remains a better option for diabetics while the regular yogurt remains a better choice for those looking to maintain healthier bones because it is richer in calcium. The Greek version of yogurt is fast becoming a popular choice over fatty and high-calorie dips and condiments such as cream cheese, sour cream heavy cream, smoothies, dips, salad dressing, sauces and many other such items. This is because it is an excellent option for weightwatchers and those who wish to scrutinize the intake of fats and calories. Thus, while the popularity of and awareness about the Greek yogurt is increasing, people have better options to select from. It is however not necessary that’s everyone should now go for it. One needs to see which choice suits his/her requirements better and buy yogurt accordingly. The Greek version is now easily available in the market and it has become easier for people to make selections but in the United States, the yogurt made using sheep’s milk might not be available while that made up of cow’s milk can be found easily because it suits the people’s tastes more. With healthier choices increasingly flooding the supermarkets, selecting the right foods is not so difficult now. However, it is important to be careful about the ingredients and nutrition during selection.                             

Greek yogurt is manufactured by a number of brands and comes in a lot of verities varying in taste and nutritional facts. Buyers can make their choice and enjoy all the health and wellness that they had dreamt of.

Shopping out in the supermarket is really fun. With large varieties of all items ranging from kitchen cleaners to cosmetics and toiletries, imported as well as locally manufactured, seen or never seen before products stocked on both sides, the experience is simply exotic! Roaming around between fully stocked shelves and selecting the most exciting items is fun indeed. When it comes to food items though, one has to be a bit careful. Take for instance, the label on the packaging, one has to see if it is good for one’s health or not. It is important to know that the labels are not completely misleading but also, not as healthy and effective as it sounds. This is especially the case with ‘a good source of fiber’ label.

All food items having this label might be good sources of fiber but they are certainly not as good as many other items in the same supermarket or other marts around the town. A food’s being a good source of fiber means that it contains a good quantity of fiber but then, this fiber is never a natural one. It is synthetic fiber or a fiber additive and of course with the availability of natural fiber such as whole grains, spending money on such foods is not a very good idea. In some countries, grains might be much cheaper than the expensive imported cereals or packaged foods that are apparently good sources of fiber. Hence, saving money by avoiding these kinds of foods can be helpful as one will get to spend on other areas. Also, since fiber is supposed to be part of daily diet, by taking it most authentic, effective and natural sources, one will make up for good health. Eating nutrition wise might be really technical for many people and hence, something too time consuming and demanding to do. However, since nothing can be more important than food and good health, these things have to be taken care of. Taking care will not only promote better health and wellness but also save money. Foods labeled as being a good source of fiber can be bought but only if one knows that he/she is taking the required amount of natural fiber as well, through other better sources and these foods must act only as supplementary sources of the nutrient giving a little bit of fiber along with exotica and taste. To be completely dependent on these sources for getting fiber is not so effective. It is true that additive fiber is not entirely ineffective but of course, compared to natural sources, it cannot be very effective. Since it is very important to take in a good amount of fiber each day, keeping wheat and grains in use is advised while a cereal that is a good source of fiber or other foods of this category can be kept as supplementary sources of fiber.

The label, ‘a good source of fiber’ is thus, something only to be enjoyed and not completely trusted. Manufacturers of foods which have this label have not actually lied to the customer but just over impressed them. Thus, sticking to natural foods is an excellent way of maintaining good health and utilizing the money spent on health and wellness.

When it comes to the diet of overweight or obese people, cutting down on calories is immensely important. People who are weight conscious look towards following a specified diet chart and go out in the markets and departmental stores searching or food items with low-fat or low-calorie labels. However, it is important to know the reality behind the labels in order to make the best of the diet plan that is being followed. A commonly picked label, by weightwatchers, is that of lightly sweetened and it sounds fit for use if cutting down on calories is the aim. Actually, there are far better choices and hence, this label must be avoided if possible.

The lightly sweetened label is good enough only if there is certain ingredient that has to be added into a dish or eaten alone in any case. It will be good if one is cutting the calories to as much extent as possible. If the ‘no added sugar’ label is found for the same food item that must be the choice because all the foods with this label that come into the market, are regulated by FDA. FDA does not endorse the light sweetening of a food item. And this means that there is availability of sugar in the packing anywhere from 1 to 100 grams. As far as the ‘no sugar added’ label is concerned, it actually means that there is no sugar at all in the packaging. Thus, for a more effective diet plan, it better not to take in calories to as much extent as possible rather than cutting them down really. Reducing the calorie intake to 0 will actually speed up the effectiveness of the diet plan and show results quicker. Lightly sweetened foods can be also be used if a person is feeling dire need to have sugar and has not taken much of it in a long time but for general use, it is better to opt for foods that contain no sugar at all. When FDA regulates certain foods, those foods must be preferred over others because its validation is quite reliable. The problem with light sweetening is that even with low sugar content, the food item can be really bad for certain users. Depending on the health condition and body mass index, even 50 grams of sugar can be disastrous, let alone 100 grams! And if it comes to damage, even 10 grams can cause it easily. Hence, it is a way better option to go for foods that contain no sugar at all or else, a doctor must be consulted and asked if certain food item really has to be used. Lightly sweetened foods are low calorie only for people with rather normal health conditions or for underweight people who need more calories each day than a normal person of the same age and height. For obese or overweight people or even those who have the tendency to gain weight very fast, these foods would probably not be very good choices. Thus, using the FDA regulated foods is a safer option.

In the departmental stores, people will find lightly sweetened as well as ‘no sugar added’ labels. Opting for the best one as per the requirement will benefit while craving to have sugars for no good reason might lead to unsuccessfulness of or discouragingly slow diet plan.