List of Healthy and Unhealthy Foods

HEALTHY

Healthy food diets don't have to be all about vegetables and fruits. Meats and poultry can be part of a healthy food diet when used properly. It is also important to include enough proteins in any diet. Eating too little protein is a problem in many countries, which sometimes have high rates of (PEM) protein-energy malnutrition. Meats and poultry are the biggest contributors of protein to your diet. If meat and poultry items are not in your healthy food diet, replacing the proteins they provide are going to require you to learn more about complete, incomplete, and complementary proteins. Healthy foods will always add to your body and will never subtract anything away. Below is a list of healthy foods.

Biscuit

# Sauce Alternatives:

* Vegetable Purees
* Coulis
* Salsas
* Relishes
* Chutneys
* Compotes
* Mojos

Many of the classic sauces you may use are high in fat. Try to use alternative sauces like pureed vegetables. Sauces made with vegetables are light and low in fat and kcalories.
# Nuts and Seeds:

* Nuts:
o Almonds
o Macademian nuts
o Filberts
o Walnuts
o Pinenuts
o Brazil nuts
o Cashews
o Pistachios
o Pecans
* Seeds:
o Flax seeds
o Sunflower seeds
o Sesame seeds
o Pumpkin seeds

Nuts and seeds pack a good amount of vitamins and minerals, plus fiber and proteins. Particularly, nuts contain some fat. Luckily for people who love eating nuts, most of the fat is monounsaturated. Seeds contain less fat and more fiber. The fat and fiber seeds contain will make you feel full longer. Nuts have been linked to reduction in heart disease. The monounsaturated fat in nuts will help lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the bad kind.

UNHEALHTY

It was stated earlier that protein is required in any diet. However, too much protein has no benefits. Eating more protein than you need may add kcalories beyond what you require. Extra protein is not stored as protein but is stored as fat if too many kcalories are taken in. Diets high in protein can also be a concern if you are eating a lot of high-fat animal proteins such as hamburgers and cheese and few vegetable proteins. Eating too many high fat animal foods will raise your blood cholesterol levels. Higher blood cholesterol levels increase your risk of heart disease. High intakes of animal proteins are also associated with certain cancers, such as cancer of the colon and its no secret that too many high fat foods increases the chances of gaining weight. All the foods below when consumed too much become unhealthy foods.

# High Fat Cheese:

* Blue cheese
* Brie
* Feta
* Gouda
* Light cream cheese
* Limburger
* Mozzarella, whole milk
* Parmesan
* Provolone
* Ricotta, whole milk
* Romano
* Swiss
* Tilsit, whole milk
* Cheddar
* Colby
* Cream cheese
* Monterey Jack
* Muenster
* Roquefort

Cheese is an excellent source of nutrients like protein and calcium. Still, because most cheeses are prepared with whole milk or cream, they are also high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Ounce for ounce, meat, poultry, and most cheeses have about the same amount of cholesterol. Cheeses tend to have much more saturated fat. Trying to figure out which cheeses are high in fat can be confusing, because there are so many different kinds. You have whole, part skim, low fat, processed, and many more. Not all reduced fat or part skim cheeses are low in fat, they are just lower in fat than similar natural cheeses.

# Foods High In Cholesterol (120 milligrams or more per serving):

* Biscuit with egg and sausage
o 1 biscuit= 302 amounts of cholesterol
* Egg, cooked
o 1 large= 212 amounts of cholesterol
* Shrimp, breaded and fried
o 6 to 8 shrimp= 200 amounts of cholesterol
* Duck, roasted
o 1/2 duck= 197 amounts of cholesterol

Cholesterol in your blood builds up in the plaque that clogs arteries and is a risk factor for heart disease. Cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin, like meat, poultry, milk, milk products, fish, egg yolk, and organ meats(liver, kidney, sweetbreads, brains). Egg yolks and organ meats contain the most cholesterol. One egg yolk contains 213 milligrams of cholesterol. About 4 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish (trimmed or untrimmed) contains 100 milligrams of cholesterol. Shrimp is an exception, which is higher in cholesterol. Eggs, meat, and whole milk provide most of the cholesterol we eat and are also sources rich in saturated fat.

List of Healthy and Unhealthy Foods

See a more extensive list of healthy foods and unhealthy foods here.

Healthy Valentine's Day Treats For the Little Ones

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, which means that its time to whip up some creative treats for you and the kids. While Valentine's Day is always associated with sweet treats such as chocolate and candy, you can create some yummy treats for the kids while still keeping it on the healthy side.

Valentine's Day Kabobs

Cookie

One way you can let the children indulge in a special Valentine's Day treat, without losing nutritional value is by making Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip. You can buy red or pink plastic skewers and then load them up with strawberries, cherries, watermelon and red seedless grapes. You can use a tiny heart shaped cookie cutter for the berries and watermelon to add to the festive look. Low-fat vanilla yogurt works well as a dip and strawberry yogurt would be perfect with your theme.

Here's another nutritious treat idea for your favorite little Valentines. For breakfast on this special day, make heart shaped muffins. You won't need a special muffin pan either. Just fill your muffin liners with the batter and then press a piece of tin foil, rolled to 1/2inch thick between the muffin liner and the pan to shape the muffin liner into a heart.

Here's one that's a bit different:

Strawberry Roll-ups

You will need: 4 (6 inch) soft tortilla shells
Low-fat Strawberry cream cheese
4 T Strawberry jam

Spread the cream cheese evenly across each tortilla. Add 1 T of strawberry jam, spread down the center. Fold in the edges of the tortilla, about two inches. Now roll the tortilla up- jelly roll style. Slice into 2-inch bites for the perfect Valentines Day snack.

Mini- Fruit Smoothies for Valentine's Day

Little ones enjoy fruit smoothies, so why not serve them on Valentine's Day to show your kids how much you appreciate them- in a nutritious, tasty way. They're so easy to make, you'll find yourself making up a batch even when it's not a special day. Simply combine a blend of fruits in your blender, with a little fruit juice added for liquid. You can serve them in decorated Dixie cups for little hands and embellish them with cocktail umbrellas for a special touch.

In staying with the theme of the day, use mostly red fruits and juice. Strawberries and raspberries are excellent options and you can mix in bananas without changing the color scheme. Apple juice combines well with the berries for your liquid.
Jell-O Hearts- Without the Sugar and Dyes

Little ones love Jell-O, but as a Mom you stress about all that sugar and artificial coloring. Try this instead for a nutritious option:

Boil 1 cup of water, add ½ cup of grape juice and 1 packet of unflavored gelatin. Stir until dissolved. After it cools slightly, add another ½ cup of grape juice. Pour into heart shaped molds and refrigerate until firm. If you don't have heart shaped molds, you can pour the gelatin mixture into a baking pan and then cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter after it is firm.

These treats will add some special touches to Valentine's Day for you and your kids. You can make them as a surprise or the children can partake in the fun!

Healthy Valentine's Day Treats For the Little Ones

Don't miss our other feature Valentine articles including How to Prepare a Romantic Dinner at Home for Valentine's Day: http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/article-romantic-dinner-at-home.htm) and Say I Love You with Cookies http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/article-valentine-cookies.htm

5 Healthy Valentine Snacks You Can Make For Your Sweetheart

Valentine's Day doesn't have to be just about roses and boxes of chocolate. You can surprise your sweetheart with some healthy valentine snacks this year that not only good for him or her, but also delicious. Here are five healthy snack ideas that are perfect for Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Cookie

Combine ripe strawberries with dark chocolate for a healthy, yet indulgent Valentine snack. Start with large, ripe strawberries. Melt some dark chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the strawberries halfway into the dark chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off, and then place them on some wax paper to allow the chocolate to harden.

Heart Shaped Grilled Cheese Sandwich

For these cute grilled cheese sandwiches, layer a piece of low fat cheese between two slices of wheat bread. Use a large heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into a heart. Spray a hot pan with a non-stick cooking spray and add the sandwich. Grill it until it is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted. These sandwiches are a perfect snack on their own, or serve them with a cup of tomato soup for a light lunch.

Cupid's Arrows

This snack also makes an attractive appetizer. Start by washing some grape or cherry tomatoes and cutting some low-fat mozzarella cheese into cubes. Thread them on some kabob sticks, alternating the tomatoes and the cheese. Lay the "arrows" on a platter and drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to finish off. Even cupid could not resist this Mediterranean inspired snack.

Valentine's Day Smoothie

This very-berry and pink smoothie makes a great midday snack or even a filling breakfast. Start by adding some low-fat strawberry to your blender. Toss in some frozen berries (we like strawberries) and a frozen banana if you'd like. Add a little orange juice and blend on high until well mixed. Pour the smoothie into tall glasses and top with a little low-calorie whipped topping, a strawberry and a Hershey's kiss.

Jello Hearts

These jello hearts are always a favorite with the kids. Prepare a package of strawberry yellow according to package directions. If you'd like, you can fold in a few finely chopped strawberries at the end. Pour the jello mixture into a baking dish and allow it to harden. Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut hearts out of the red yellow mixture. Top each heart with half a strawberry (cut lengthwise).

5 Healthy Valentine Snacks You Can Make For Your Sweetheart

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What's a Healthy Snack?

Many people see snacks as something store bought and individually wrapped. While this is very common, and is definitely the easiest for people with hectic schedules, it is unlikely that it is healthy. When buying snack food from a store, check out the nutrition values at the back of the wrapper. Many of the chip, cookie, and candy companies are responding to the publics crave for healthier food and a healthier lifestyle. It also isn't just about what is inside the wrapper, sometimes they advertise that their wrapping is bio-degradable and good for the environment.

Look for snacks that are low in fat, minimal carbohydrates, have no trans fat, have very little sodium or none at all. Some companies are advertising oven baked chips and organic chips. These are better options than your traditional potato chips. Same for cookie companies. Look into what these snack food companies have to offer and you can make a healthier decision.

Cookie

To be very correct about the topic though, a healthy snack is anything that is nutritious and matches a recommended daily serving of any of the five major food groups for as long as it isn't an extra serving of grains, meat, and dairy. You and your children can always have an extra serving of fruit and vegetables, and if you lead a very active lifestyle, you can have an extra serving of grains, meat, and dairy, but assuming that you fall into the norm of society, snacks should address what you don't get from your regular meals.

If you or your child ate two or three cups of fruit for breakfast and went two rounds at the salad bar for lunch, it is okay to snack on a sandwich of cold cuts and cheese in the afternoon! By this time of the day, both of your bodies will be needing the grains and protein in order to keep your system running well. While this diet is rather unconventional, it can happen. Denying yourself of the grains and protein your body craves and needs is just as bad as not eating fruit and vegetables. In this scenario, the sandwich is a healthy snack because it is supplying your body with what it lacks.

So what's a healthy snack? It's whatever fits into your recommended daily serving of whatever of the five food groups. Really. There are no hard and fast rules to what you can eat, just conventional ones. So the next time you're considering a snack or you're preparing a snack for your children and you want it to be healthy, think about what you've eaten earlier in the day and what you might be eating for dinner. After some quick math, you'll be able to make an educated and nutritious choice. Following this system, no food is banned from being snack food. Now doesn't that sound great?

What's a Healthy Snack?

Want to keep snacking? Make your own snacks at home! Check out Healthy Snack Recipes and discover great snack recipes, as well as other healthy recipes both children and adults will enjoy!