3000 British people were asked “What’s your biggest ‘little pleasure’ in life? I personally think that popping bubble wrap and getting a compliment from someone should be MUCH higher…..but at least they made the list! Did they miss anything?

Top 50 greatest little pleasures in life

By Shalene McNeill, PhD, RD 

It’s making headlines around the globe – Americans are overweight. New diets pop up everyday, but as the nation focuses on cutting calories, it’s important to not sacrifice key nutrients.  

While we’re overfed, new research shows that Americans are not meeting their average daily need for nutrients. The solution is to eat nutrient-rich foods, like high quality lean protein, to provide the essential vitamins and minerals needed to fuel a healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating is no longer about counting calories, but making your calories count more.     

Eating nutrient-rich foods satisfies the body, helping you feel full longer, while providing much needed nutrients. Food and nutrition planning should emphasize “power” calories by focusing on naturally nutrient-rich foods, like colorful fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy, whole grains and lean meat.   

Nothing like a visit to the dentist to scare some sense into a know-it-all teen. Last week’s visit yielded four words no one wants to hear: “He’s got a cavity.”

Since then the boy has been a regular zealot. I haven’t had to remind him to brush his teeth all week. It’s been great.

Do you ever look around and notice that your whole house seems as if it’s morphed from relatively decent to trashy almost overnight? I hate when that happens.

Well, here’s one of the sneaky ways I trick myself into picking up when I don’t want to. It’s quite simple really: I pretend someone will be dropping by in 15 minutes.

Not just any person. I take a few moments and consider exactly the kind of motivation I need. How bad is it really? Neighbor next door? Or do I need to bring in the big guns? Someone I’d really like to impress. (Insert your mentor, role model or favorite celebrity here.)

So what do I do with the 15 minutes?

Step 1: I scoot through the house, bucket in hand, and pick up items that are out of place. Room priorities are as follows: living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, and family room.

Walk up to any coffee counter these days and you’re bound to find a big bottle of agave syrup nestled in between the cane sugar and half & half. Touted as an all natural, healthy alternative to other sweeteners, agave seemed the go to choice for people who like it sweet by need something with a lower glycemic index and diabetics.

Unfortunately, agave ain’t all that.

The truth behind agave, which is derived from the succulent agave plant in Mexico, is it’s almost all fructose. Fructose, a naturally occurs sugar, is fine when consumed in its natural state. An apple, for instance, contains 7% fructose. Agave nectar contains a whopping 90% fructose.

And what’s the problem with fructose? In highly concentrated amounts, fructose has been linked to liver disease.

So when it comes to sweetening your coffee, tea or recipe, honey and sugar are still the sweeter deal.
 

Many years ago, a friend of mine walked up behind another friend who had just returned from two tours of duty in Viet Nam with the Marines. The vet didn't hear my friend until she was right behind him. His training kicked in, and he whirled and struck out with a karate chop. Fortunately, he caught himself in time, and my friend apologized profusely for seeming to sneak up on him.

The Marine had spent months in mortal danger, using the survival skills he'd learned, and was still reacting as if he were in the jungle. We are trained much the same way when we're children and teenagers. Over time, we learn a certain way of reacting that reflects our parents' attitudes, our school environment, our friends' attitudes. We may have grown up in a dangerous situation, such as with an abusive parent or being harassed in school, and discovered that being quiet and invisible kept us safer. Or we might have learned to strike out in anger to reduce our risk. When we grow older, we continue those reactions without thinking, just as my marine friend did.