20 Pounds!

Well, even if I haven't lost 20 pounds, my mother has! Woohoo! Great job, Mom! She is on track to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.

I Got It from My Momma

Understanding the Body

An interesting article came out in the Wall Street Journal called What Your Body Is Telling You. It talks about symptoms to watch, such as white nails near the cuticle that are red/brown near the top. Fun article... but not one for hypochondriacs.

Top Foods to Buy Organic

One of my reasons for buying organic - pesticides are originally derived from nerve gas agents used in WWII. Why would I ingest remnants of nerve gas agents? That cannot be good for a body.

CNN.com has an article by CookingLight on How to buy the best organic foods. The article mentions a study that found organic foods may contain more nutrients than their non-organic peers. The most useful item from the article, was a link to a myrecipes.com article on the top 12 foods to buy organic (because of the high-levels of pesticides they absorb). The 12 foods are:

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

Exercising with Pets

I love taking long walks and running with my dog. I especially like it when he breaks into a game of "Chase me" randomly along our walks. I came across a cute article on CNN that talks about exercising with animals... This article goes a bit further than my pup and I go, in terms of working out together. It talks about people who lift cats as weights and doga (yoga with your dog). I will admit my dog does like to try to do yoga with me, when I am working out at home.

A Little Mercury with Your Corn Syrup?

My grandmother sent along interesting link from elements4health.com. (Yes, my grandmother is still cooler than your grandmother.)

A quote from the article: "Just published in the Environmental Health journal is a science commentary reporting that mercury was found in 9 of 20 samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a common sweetener of foods and beverages."

Corn syrup is one of my life enemies. I mean this literally, because I am allergic to corn and because corn syrup is everywhere. I am constantly finding it in items that have no need for corn syrup (or any other sweetener). Also scary from the article mentioned above, is that it lists that a specific type of oatmeal is high in mercury, too.

Tops for Gluten-free Bread

I found a new gluten-free bread brand that is so good, even my husband asks me to buy it so he can sneak a roll out of the freezer every once in a while. A company called Against the Grain Gourmet has mastered making gluten-free pizza crusts, rolls, and baguettes. Their foods also exclude corn and soy, key for me.

These bread products have a lot of calories due to containing cheese, but wow do they taste yummy! Their pizza crusts are super easy to throw a topping on and pop in the oven. So far my favorite pizza toppings include:

• A little tomato sauce
• Fresh baby spinach
• Halved cherry tomatoes
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese