Top 10 Most Over-Hyped Health Products

Health products are notorious for making bold claims that are often bold-faced lies, but it doesn't take much for a person to get swept up in the hype of these popular products. Effective marketing strategies, like customer testimonials and word of mouth, help spread the hype and increase sales, but is it well deserved? So many of the health products we've come to trust and love have proven to be, well, pointless, and they may end up costing you more money and worries in the long run.

 Here's a list of the 10 most overhyped health products on the market. Click here http://www.insurancequotes.org/10-most-overhyped-health-products-on-the-market/for a link to read the rationale behind putting each of them on the list.

1. Multivitamins
2. Anti-bacterial soap
3. Scented feminine products
4. Breath-freshening mouthwash
5. Nasal irrigation devices
6. Redness-reducing eyedrops
7. Toothbrush sanitizers
8. Facial toner
9. Hand sanitizer
10. Cold prevention products

Whatever happened to food blogs?

At least the local foodie blogs (in Cincinnati) have dwindled. People get tired of doing it, I guess. It certainly hasn't brought me riches or fame, and yet I still plug away with postings at least a couple of times a week. This blog started almost three years ago (!) and has never made a dime.

Here is a place to look for other folks who still carry the flag, sharing their passion for all things edible.

Lightened-up Italian: Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca

Add lots of veggies -- even more than in the recipe below, if you like -- to make this a satisfying while also guilt-free, and kid-friendly, supper.

Recipe: Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces linguine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives
• 1 28-ounce can San Marzano plum tomatoes
• 4 basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish
• 1 5-ounce can albacore tuna, packed in olive oil

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook linguine until just tender.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until slightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the capers and olives and fry 2 more minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the skillet with your hands and reserve the juices. Cook until the tomatoes are slightly dry, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved tomato juices, the basil, and salt to taste and cook until the sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tuna with its oil, breaking it up with a fork, and season with salt.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water, and return it to the pot. Add the sauce and the reserved cooking water and toss. Season with pepper and garnish with more basil.

Pan-seared Mahi with Vegetable Medley

This was a "contents of my fridge" preparation to go with a nice piece of mahi-mahi, and it turned out so well, I thought it worth sharing. You can't really see the fish in the photo, smothered as it is in a pan full of many tasty vegetables.
It's OK to substitute any other fish for the mahi, or if you prefer, use boneless chicken breast or even a boneless, lean cut of pork.
But it was great with the mahi.

Ingredients:
Two 6-ounce fish fillets, sprinkled with salt and pepper
11/2 cups of diced mixed aromatic vegetables (I used celery, onion, and carrots)
1/2 cup sliced leeks
1 cup sliced fresh Brussels sprouts
Handful of thin green beans (haricots verts)
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1/4 mixed fresh herbs of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Coat a nonstick frying pan with cooking spray and a little bit of olive or canola oil, and heat pan over medium-high heat. Add fish and saute until brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove fish to a small plate, cover and keep warm.
Turn heat under pan down to medium. Add next four ingredients (aromatics through green beans) and stir-fry until veggies begin to tenderize, about 5 minutes. Add a little but of stock at a time to keep the veggies moist. Throw in the herbs, salt and pepper, add fish back to pan, cover and reduce heat to low.
Serve when the veggies are at the level of doneness that you like and the fish is heated through-- probably just another 2-4 minutes.

Quick! Make this delicious (& healthy) dessert for Easter

What could say springtime better than strawberries and rhubarb? Try these fruit bars and please everyone you might be feeding this weekend.

Recipe: Fruit Bars with Strawberries and Rhubarb
Makes 12-18 bars, depending on the size of your cut

Ingredients:

 

CRUST

• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts) or old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

FRUIT FILLING

• 3 cups diced strawberries (fresh or frozen), divided
• 3 cups diced fresh rhubarb, divided
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. To prepare crust: Combine 3/4 cup nuts (or oats), whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulse until well incorporated.
2. Whisk egg, oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl. With the motor running, add the mixture to the food processor. Process, then pulse, scraping down the sides, if necessary, until the mixture begins to clump, 30 to 45 seconds (it will look crumbly). Measure out 1/2 cup of the mixture and combine in a bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped nuts (or oats). Set aside for the topping.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
4. To prepare fruit filling & assemble bars: Combine 2 cups strawberries, 2 cups rhubarb, orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. (It may take up to 10 minutes to get a thick result if you start with frozen fruit.) Stir in the remaining 1 cup strawberries and 1 cup rhubarb and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
6. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Source: Adapted from www.eatingwell.com

Sedentary job? Sitting all day? (Not good for us.) How to overcome

Want to "fight the effects of sitting all day?"
Check out this article, "22 Painless Ways" to do just that.

Ideas include stretches and exercises you can do at your desk or near it; improving the ergonomics of your chair, desk, keyboard or footrest; health habits during your home life that can make you feel better all day long; and other good suggestions.

Outdoor bar at Rookwood Restaurant opening soon

We had a very fun family dinner this weekend at Rookwood Restaurant in Mt. Adams. It's always a pleasant experience, not the least thanks to some delicious craft cocktails and the house-made tonic that takes any gin & tonic up a few notches.

Our favorite experience there, however, is to eat on the two-level deck overlooking the city. Not only is there a separate bar but (even better) the outdoor, charcoal grill puts out some of the yummiest burgers in the city.

No service out there yet -- although we took our cocktails and enjoyed them on the top deck picnic table -- but we're informed that the outdoor bar is set to open on 4/12, with the grill to fire up as soon thereafter as weather permits.

When that happens, you can chow down on one of these terrific hamburgers, photographed by yours truly last summer.