LilSugar

Delilicious: A Shortcut to Cookies and Time With Your Child

LilSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 PST

Life is busy, so make it sweet. Moms on tight schedules may not have time to bake cookies from scratch after a long day at the office or park, but their children can still benefit from kitchen time together and indulge in a treat. A few weeks ago, I bought a bag of Chocolate Chunk Better Bakes ($4) at Whole Foods. The container of organic pre-portioned cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Company shortened the timely task of batter-making. My daughter just popped a few circles onto a baking sheet, and I put it in a 325 degree oven for 14 minutes. Once the cookies cooled, she had fun making them into lil sandwiches by spreading ice cream or peanut butter between two and fusing them together. To fancy up the edges, she then rolled them in chocolate sprinkles or crushed peanuts. Since the dough bits are quarter-size, they make great mini desserts.

How to Throw a Moneyball-Themed Oscar Party

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:30:21 PST

It may not be baseball season quite yet, but you can get that feeling if you throw an Oscar viewing party and let best picture nominee Moneyball be your inspiration. The film might even make for a better theme than Midnight in Paris or The Artist, depending on your crowd. Here's how to score a home run at your Oscar gathering (and don't forget to fill out a ballot for a chance to win an iPad.)

How to decorate: Bring out baseballs, bats, gloves, and any other sports memorabilia you may have. String up streamers in green and yellow (the Oakland A's colors), and nod to the movie's financial theme by decorating with fake dollar bills. If you really want to tie in the film, get a life-size Brad Pitt cutout (which wouldn't be a bad thing to have around, anyway).
How to dress: Wear the shirt of your baseball team of choice, but to really mirror the film, rock Oakland A's gear, or at least their colors.
What to serve: Traditional ballpark fare like hot dogs, beer, cotton candy, and peanuts in the shell, of course. Bake cookies or cake pops and frost them to look like baseballs.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Oyster Lovers: Make These!

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:45:11 PST

Although you can essentially enjoy the briny bivalve all year round, it's widely known that oysters are best eaten in months that have a letter "R." Oysters are delicious on the half shell, but my favorite way to prepare them is casino-style. Bacon and butter make everything taste better! The best thing about this recipe is that it can be prepared in advance. The herb butter will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, and the bacon can be crisped the night before you plan to serve the oysters. Bake them just before eating. Offer the oysters with sparkling wine and you've got the perfect appetizer. Here's the uncomplicated recipe.

A Reader Recipe: Chunky Cherry-Chocolate Granola Bites

Fit Community — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:28:09 PST

FitSugar reader JuicyNoelle came up with this special cookie for Valentine's Day; she posted the recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

Tied with a festive pink ribbon and a little love, I’m hoping these cookies will be perfect for Valentine's Day. The whole-grain oats, nuts, and cherries in these cookies add heartiness, while the melted dark-chocolate chunks deliver bursts of richness. The chia seeds pack a nutty punch, and they are rich in fiber and omega-3s, too - perfect for supporting vibrant hair and skin during these cold weeks of February.

Learn more about the recipe after the break!

How to Make Your Favorite Snacks Healthier

Leta Shy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:34:32 PST

When you're craving a salty, crunchy snack, there are many to choose from - but they're not always healthy. Here's how to make your favorite snacks that much better for you with just a few tweaks.

Popcorn: It's one of the lower-calorie snacks to choose from already, but watch out for toppings - that's where you can get carried away with fat and calories if you're not careful (just look at movie theater popcorn). Air-popped popcorn has the fewest calories - 31 calories per cup - but even using a little bit of oil will only add about 14 calories. Keep calories low by skipping the butter and salt, not to mention the prepackaged popcorn. Instead, use healthier popcorn toppings like extra virgin coconut oil, Indian spices, or "cheesy" nutritional yeast. Read more healthy popcorn topping ideas here.

Nuts: A handful of nuts can keep you satisfied and energized far longer than a carb-filled snack, and not only that, the unsaturated fats in them do you good. But if you want to get the most benefit out of the healthy fats of certain nuts (like walnuts), don't roast them, since their antioxidants may be damaged when baked at a high temperature, as most commercial nuts are. If you don't like the taste of raw nuts, roast your own at 165° Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Read on for ways to healthify more of your favorite snacks.

10 Cheap and Easy Dates For Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Nerds

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:30:00 PST

Does sitting down with your favorite sci-fi novel, fantasy movie, or comic book sound better than dropping a boatload of cash on a Valentine's Day dinner date? You're not alone. These 10 geeky date ideas are two things - awesomely cheap and easy to pull off for your kindred sci-fi and/or fantasy nerd. Cheers to you!

Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Make some Lembas bread together and watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Bake some geeky sweets using Star Wars-themed cookie cutters.
Gift a geeky cookbook and try out a recipe together.
Create your own cocktail and top it off with nerdy ice cubes.
Take in a killer sci-fi classic at your local drive-in.
Make a pink Captain Picard cake to celebrate Valentine's Day and your mutual love for the captain who is number two in your heart.
Make some Earl Grey tea and watch a Star Trek marathon.
Rewatch the first season of Game of Thrones or start a book club for two and reread the series together.

4 Lazy Moves That Boost Your Health

Prevention — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:16 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

You don’t have to go on a deprivation diet or spend hours exercising to ward off disease and be your healthiest self! Instead, try these supersimple tips
By the editors of Prevention

Staying healthy can feel like so much, well, work (think: logging hours at the gym and whipping up nutritious meals from scratch). However, there are plenty of small moves that you can make in your everyday life that will have big health benefits. We’ve rounded up 15 practically zero-effort ways to fight disease, whittle your waist, lower stress, and more. Bonus: many of these good-for-you moves feel good, too. So say sayonara to the old adage “no pain, no gain” and try these tips today.

Lazy Move No. 1: Protect Your Ticker by Snoozing
Need a good excuse to grab your comfiest set of pajamas and hit the sack? Skimping on shut-eye may do more than make you cranky or unproductive - it also boosts your risk of a heart attack. According to one Norwegian study, people who reported that they did not wake up feeling refreshed in the morning had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack, those who had trouble staying asleep almost every night in the last month had a 30 percent higher risk, and those who had trouble falling asleep almost every night in the last month had odds that jumped to 45 percent.

Twenty Ways to Sleep Better Every Night

Some researchers speculate that insomnia might trigger your body to release more of the stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol have been linked with high blood pressure and diabetes, which are both risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Plus when you’re exhausted, you may be more likely to make unhealthy choices that up your heart disease risk, such as skipping your workout or reaching for fatty or sugary snacks for a quick energy fix.

Keep reading for three more lazy ways to improve your health.

If You're Craving Girl Scout Cookies, Try These Instead

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:13:50 PST

It's Girl Scout Cookie time! Noshing on these fund-raising treats seems like an American pastime, but it can be challenging to keep a snack session of these seasonal sweets in check. If you can enjoy your cookies in a reasonable manner, then good for you! But if you're looking for a way to scratch that sugary itch without killing your healthy eating agenda, here are some healthier alternatives.

Do-Si-Dos
Two-cookie serving: 120 calories, five grams of fat, seven grams of sugar

Quick Fix: The Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie is a perfect substitute since it's so filling - I usually only eat half of a bar at a time. One bar contains 220 calories, seven grams of protein, and four grams of fiber. Made out of dried dates, one bar equals one half serving of fruit. There are 18 grams of sugar in this bar, but the sugar content is not added; it naturally occurs in the dates. The other two ingredients in this bar are peanuts and salt.

DIY Fix: Make your own tasty peanut butter treat! Blend a little peanut butter, apple sauce, and raisins for a sweet, satisfying, and nutritious homemade spread. Two tablespoons of this peanut butter raisin spread offers almost five grams of protein and two grams of fiber.

Don't see your fave cookie? Keep on reading!

Organize Your Life: 6 Ways to Tame Your Kitchen Drawers

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:38:53 PST

The New Year means it's time to start organizing the areas of your life you've neglected, including out-of-sight (but awfully cluttered) kitchen drawers.

Are you guilty of buying more than one measuring spoon set, just to avoid hopelessly digging around your disorganized drawers? Has your junk drawer reached capacity? Speed up your search time and make your kitchen drawers safer and neater with our quick tips. Better organization cuts down on cleanup time for the whole family - and you won't drive yourself crazy searching for the liquid measuring cup ever again.

Click here to check out our drawer-organizing tips.

Painless Ways to Add Fiber to Your Diet

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:26:16 PST

Whether you're a serious meat eater who considers a side salad enough greens for the day, or someone who just hates veggies, if one of your New Year's resolutions is to eat more fiber, here are some easy ways to increase your roughage without a disapproving peep from your taste buds.

Have a sweet tooth? Add spinach to homemade brownies, mash baked sweet potato into pancake mix, or add shredded carrots to banana bread.
Don't just grab any ol' box of cereal. Choose a cereal that has at least eight grams of fiber per serving.
Become a fan of flax. Sprinkle whole flaxseeds onto your bowl of cereal, or if the texture is a turnoff, use ground flaxmeal instead. You can also add flaxseed or flaxmeal to pizza dough, pancake batter, and cookie and muffin recipes.
Make a smoothie for breakfast (or even dessert) with tons of fresh or frozen fruit. Throw in a few spinach or kale leaves for added fiber. The sweetness of the fruit hides the taste of the greens and since it's blended so well, the texture is completely smooth - no chewing your veggies required.

Keep reading for more fiber-boosting tips.