Posts filed under ‘Diet’
Eating healthy isn’t more expensive
With $1 items on fast-food menus, it might seem that eating junk food high in sugar and fat is cheaper than eating healthy foods.
But a new study conducted by the Agriculture Department in the U.S. has found that when you look at it from a portion or weight (food weight, that is) perspective, eating veggies, fruit, grains and dairy products is less costly than eating foods high in sugar, saturated fats and salt.
So you can save your health and some money by eating well.
Which’ll give you more money to spend on sweet buys, such as this Banjo and Matilda cashmere heart sweater. It’s incentive enough (other than, of course, the incentive of good health and all!), dontcha think?
Cupcake truths
(I would love a dedicated shoe or handbag closet, but sometimes I dream of having a cupcake closet just like at Prairie Girl Bakery)
I share this information since I can never enjoy a Prairie Girl Bakery cupcake in the same way ever again — and misery loves company and all:
In an article in the Toronto Star yesterday, they revealed that a chocolate cupcake from this bakery (it’s one of of my favourite cupcake shops) contains nearly 700 CALORIES and 30 GRAMS OF FAT.
YIKES.
I obviously didn’t think they were nutritious or low-cal, but those ginormous numbers were astounding to me.
If you haven’t been scared off by this info, and want to try them (they are indeed delicious), here’s what I think this shop does right (I’m very picky when it comes to cupcakes):
- They offer tons of different frosting and cake combinations and the options are clearly marked on the wall making it easy to decide and order. (I’m partial to the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting.)
- Their cupcakes are large (although I guess this adds to the calorie and fat numbers…but hey, go big or go home).
- Their sliding shelves of cupcakes are mesmerizing. The very first time I walked into check out the bakery for sweetspot.ca (sigh, a site that is no longer, but if I talk about that I’ll need 10 cupcakes to drown my sorrows) the vision of rows upon rows of cupcakes stopped me in my tracks.
- They have proper cupcake boxes (with a base that holds each cupcake place so they don’t get all tossed around in the box) for however many cupcakes you buy.
Will I stop eating them? Hellz no. I only have one every three months at most. And I’ll just make sure I run an extra hour or two the week that I do :)
Prairie Girl Bakery; two locations, 18 King St. East and First Canadian Place.
Bring on the carbs
In less than 48 hours I’ll be running my very first marathon (the Toronto Marathon on Sunday, May 6, 7:30AM sharp!), so what time is it? Bring-on-the-carbs time! (I actually started a few days ago — all in race prep, of course :)
(Jonathan Adler carbs canisters — I wanted these when I spotted them in San Fran in the fall when I ran the Nike Women’s Half-marathon, but thought they’d be too hard to lug home on the plane).
Sports and energy drinks are bad for your teeth
So this research isn’t exactly what I want to be reading just days before I’m sipping a sports drink as I run my very first marathon (I only drink it for energy for runs longer than 10k, you don’t need it for short runs, people – it blows my mind when I see people drinking sports drinks for their stroll in the park, or on the streetcar as though it’s a refreshing everyday beverage to enjoy!):
Sports and energy drinks damage your teeth (especially for teens who are drinking these more frequently than ever), and it’s damage that can’t be repaired. These beverages are high in acidity, which can wear down enamel. Energy drinks in particular are bad for your chompers (causing twice as much damage).
The study authors suggest rinsing the mouth with water or chewing sugar-free gum after drinking these bevvies — this will get your saliva flowing and that’ll level out your mouth’s acid levels. You might be tempted to brush your teeth right after, but this is not advised — brushing will help the enamel-eroding acid by spreading all over the surfaces of your teeth; wait an hour and then brush if you wish.
