Author Archives: Sonja Goedkoop
Thanks to Sonja for Guest Blogging.

Grocery Shopping Woes? Four Tips for A Healthier Cart

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Making changes towards a healthier diet is not easy. And for those living in low-income areas, healthy eating may be particularly challenging.

For the last five months, I’ve been working with researchers at Johns Hopkins University looking to improve the way consumers purchase food at a supermarket in a low-income neighborhood in Baltimore. Our study seeks to promote healthy purchasing based on findings from focus groups and interviews in the community.

Although many people seem set on their eating patterns, surprisingly, we found that many shoppers want to buy healthy foods for their families. However, they face many constraints that lead them to purchase more unhealthy foods and fewer nutritious foods than they would prefer. Continue reading →

Build a Fun, Healthy Bar Brunch for Mother’s Day

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Looking for a gift idea this Mother’s Day? Show your thoughtfulness and creativity by setting up a yogurt parfait bar – it’s healthy, satisfying and looks appealing too. This brunch has my favorite breakfast foods: Greek yogurt, berries and granola. It’s also full of nutrients and cancer-fighting compounds, and the variety of options make it a meal your whole family is sure to enjoy.

The starring ingredient is Greek yogurt. This type of yogurt has a rich, creamy texture because it goes through an extra straining process that removes milk’s liquid whey. So how does Greek yogurt stack up against the traditional kind on the health front?

Both Greek and regular yogurt can be part of a healthy diet. Aim for the low-fat varieties without added sugars. Greek yogurt packs an extra protein punch. A 6 oz serving of plain, non-fat Stonyfield yogurt contains 8 grams of protein; the same amount of non-fat Stonyfield Greek yogurt has an impressive 17 grams of protein. Protein can help keep you feeling full longer, fighting off those afternoon hunger cravings.

Greek yogurt has fewer carbohydrates than the traditional, all in roughly the same amount of calories. But Greek yogurt does contain about a third less calcium. Continue reading →

Muscle Toning in the Office

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Sometimes it’s difficult to find time to work out, and many of us sit at our desks for hours at a time without any movement other than typing. Evenings at home may not be much better if you watch TV or play games at your computer.

New research suggests that sitting for long periods of time may increase cancer risk – whether you exercise regularly or not. What to do? As it happens, we’ve got some great ideas on being less sedentary during the day in our latest video: 3 minute office workouts.

And here are more ideas:

Continue reading →