- What's for dinner? Try one of these recipes!
 
All Entries From Jen MuellerJen is known on SparkPeople.com as SPARK_COACH_JENJen Mueller left her first career in corporate finance to earn a master’s degree in health education. She is a busy mom and certified personal trainer who is passionate about helping people reach their health and fitness goals. In her spare time, Jen loves training for marathons (crazy, huh?) and spending time with her family. Jen blogs about the latest health news and research and how small behavior changes can impact your health and quality of life. Poll: Do You Eat Lunch Away from Your Desk?Take a walk around my office at lunchtime, and you’ll see it’s definitely not the norm. In most offices, you’ll find lots of people eating at their desks while doing work or surfing the Web. In my office, lunchtime is very quiet. Many people go out at lunch (either to exercise or enjoy the sunshine), or some work out in our office gym. Rarely do you see people sitting at their desks working at lunch. Its part of our office culture, reinforcing the idea that fitness is an important part of your day. Read More Part-Time Vegetarianism is Gaining GroundIf I lived alone, I would probably be a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for a year or two before I got pregnant with my first child, but started eating meat again because I craved it. That’s the only time in my life I would say that I "craved" meat. In general, I tend to gravitate to the vegetarian items on a restaurant menu and if I’m making a meal for just myself, it doesn’t usually have meat in it. But cooking for one is rare in my house. I have a husband who likes meat, and two children who need at least some of the protein that meat provides. My daughter is great about eating alternate protein sources like beans, but my son won’t touch them. In order to provide a balanced diet to my family, I make meat dishes at least a few times a week. And I’m slightly lazy, which means I’m not going to make one thing for them and something different for myself. So I end up eating meat whether I really want to or not. Read More Using Farmers Markets to Tackle Childhood ObesityI’ve blogged in the past about my love for farmers’ markets. They have such a wide array of fruits and vegetables that I’ve been able to try things I might never have noticed otherwise. Now a unique program in Massachusetts is using farmers’ markets to expose low-income children to these foods and help combat childhood obesity. Read More Is My Child Destined to be a Worry-Wart Like Me?There are lots of traits I hope to pass on to my kids, such as my strong work ethic and desire to succeed. But there are a few traits I hope they don’t inherit, and my tendency to worry is at the top of the list. My daughter (who is 3) has already started to exhibit some of those traits, being a little adult who wants to take care of everyone and everything. For a long time I’ve thought that it was in her genes, and maybe she’s just destined to be like me. But a new study is showing that environment might have an even bigger influence. Read More Could Your Weight Affect How You React to Food Cues?Most people assume that individuals are overweight because they eat too much at every meal, or they are always making unhealthy choices. But as you probably know, that’s not always the case. New research is looking at how people react to food in different ways, and how that can have an affect on eating patterns and ultimately, weight. Read More Poll: Do You Eat Dinner as a Family?Growing up, evenings were busy in my family. My sister and I were involved in various activities, my mom worked part time (which sometimes included evenings) and my dad played soccer at least one night a week. But even though our schedules were full, I remember we usually took time to eat dinner together. T.V. was never part of our meal time routine, so it became the perfect opportunity to catch up on the events of the day. As we got older, those 30 minutes were often the only chance we had to spend time together during the week. Read More Confession: My Posture is HorribleEveryone has those things they don’t like about themselves. Feet that are too big or too small, a face that is too round or too long, etc. It’s easy to find flaws when we look in the mirror. Hands down, the thing that bothers me most about myself is my posture--something you’d think I could improve. I’ve tried various things over the years to help correct the problem, but so far, no luck. Read More Hands-Only CPR Can Save LivesI’ve been CPR certified for a number of years. Thankfully I’ve never had to use the techniques I’ve learned, but it always makes me feel better knowing that I could attempt to save a life if it were needed. I’ll be honest; the thought of performing CPR on someone makes me very nervous. Would I remember the order of the steps? The right number of breaths to compressions? Could I stay calm enough to do what needed to be done? The American Heart Association is promoting new guidelines that will make it easier and safer for people to help during an emergency. Wouldn’t you like to learn how to help save a life? Read More Exercise Might Not Help If You’re Generally a Couch PotatoWe often hear about the benefits of exercise, how it will improve your quality of life and help you live longer. It’s easy to assume that people who train for marathons or bike 10 miles to work each day would be the pillar of good health. Although exercise is key, how you spend the other 23 hours a day is just as important. Need another reason to lead an active life that doesn’t involve being a couch potato? A new study says that if you spend a lot of the day sitting, you have an increased risk of mortality regardless of how much you exercise. Read More Decoding the Mystery of Food LabelsI consider myself to be a conscientious label-reader at the grocery store. As a general rule of thumb, I don't buy products that contain a long list of ingredients with words I can't pronounce. If I have no clue what is in the product, I assume it's probably not the best thing to be putting into my body or serving to my family. But sometimes it's overwhelming and confusing. Companies do their best to convince us their products are good for us, even if they aren't. Do words like "all-natural" and "organic" mean "healthy"? Not necessarily. Read More Perfectionism Leads to Poor HealthIn many ways, I consider myself to be a perfectionist. I work very hard to be a good employee, good mother, good spouse, etc. I'm slightly fanatic about having a clean and orderly house (which is no small feat with two little kids), and I'm not good at sitting down and relaxing. I always feel like there's something I could (or should) be doing instead. I get stressed out about these things from time to time (okay, actually it's often), and I know it's not healthy. New research is confirming what I would have suspected: perfectionists tend to be in worse physical health and increase their risk of death. Read More We Know Diet Pills Don't Work, But We're Still BuyingMost people realize that if a supplement's claims seem too good to be true, they probably are. "Lose 10 pounds in 2 days!" or "Look like this swimsuit model in less than a week!" are claims that make most of us roll our eyes and shake our heads. But for some reason, companies keep making diet pills and other supplements. What is that reason? Because they still make money. Even though we know they aren't likely to work, a lot of us are still spending big bucks in the hopes that diet pills will help us reach our goals more quickly and easily. Why? Read More Do Glucosamine and Chondroitin Alleviate Joint Pain?For many years, people have been searching for ways to alleviate joint pain, especially those who suffer from the painful effects of osteoarthritis. Glucosamine and chondroitin are two naturally occurring substances in your body that help build and repair cartilage. The theory behind using them for joint pain is that more of the cartilage building blocks will be available for cartilage repair. Research has shown that these products are generally safe, but are they effective? Much of the current research says you should save your money. Read More When Picky Eating Becomes a Bigger ProblemGrowing up, I remember my mom had a friend who would not eat anything green. She had tried, but it was almost like she couldn't force herself to take a bite of something if it was green. When we talk about picky eaters, the first thought that usually comes to mind is a child who won't try anything new. But many adults who have been labeled as "picky" aren't being particular by choice; some have diets that are so limited it interferes with relationships and has a significant impact on their lives. Read More Poll: Do You Always Wear Sunscreen?
I feel like my kids are constantly greasy in the summer, since I coat them in sunscreen every time we go out to play. My son usually has a hat on and my daughter either wears a hat or her favorite ladybug sunglasses. I know about the damaging effects of the sun's rays, so I try to be very careful and not expose them to too much (except for a few minutes unprotected to get their Vitamin D for the day.) You'd think that because I'm so diligent with my children, I'd also make sure I'm protected. But honestly, that's not always the case.  |
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