Maureen Bertsch is the winner of the Trihealth  Fitness Pavilion”Fit in 6″ membership given away on Amy’s Table this morning. Congratulations, Maureen!

How do you take a favorite party food and turn it into a nutritional powerhouse? By adding superfoods. Superfoods are certain fruits and vegetables that are super-rich in nutrients with proven targeted health benefits. Here’s a perfect example. Everybody loves baked brie. Fill it with Dole Baby Spinach dressed with a little balsamic vinegar and strawberry preserves. Add dried blueberries and walnuts and top it with sliced strawberries. Serve it with crusty slices of bread and you’ve got something your guests will feel good about eating. Dole Spinach is an immunity superfood and  a good source of iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. Blueberries and Strawberries are superfoods for your brain. Eating good food is a pure pleasure. Eating good food that’s good for you too? Now that’s a beautiful bonus and you’ll discover that little changes can have a big impact. You can find all kinds of healthy tips and salad inspiration at Dole.com/salads

Baked Stuffed Brie

Prep: 10 min. Bake: 6 min. Makes: 6 servings [Read more →]

Listen to the interview.

Now here’s something that makes a lot of sense! Dr Jim Greene and Lisa Branzel joined me today to talk about the global initiative called “Exercise Is Medicine”.  Locally, TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion  and three TriHealth physician practices have collaborated to encourage patients to get at least 150 minutes of [Read more →]

Listen to the interview.

Did you know that 4 million cats and dogs—about one every 8 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year? Megan Blake is a pet expert, animal advocate and host of the PBS show Animal Attractions and she joined us on Amy’s Table today to talk about pet adoption from rescues and shelters.

Here’s why Megan says we  should adopt from an animal shelter instead of buying a pet from a store:

o You’ll get a healthy pet! Your new pet is more likely to be vaccinated, de-wormed, and spayed or neutered if obtained from a shelter rather than a pet store.
o You’ll save money! Fees from a shelter are usually much less than the purchase price of an animal from a pet store or breeder.
o You’ll find a better selection! Shelters have a great selection of adult animals, kittens, puppies and purebred animals available for adoption.
o You won’t be supporting puppy mills and pet stores. Did you know that purebreds account for about 25 to 30 percent of a shelter’s dog population?
o You’ll save a life!

Check our Megan’s new social network for pets, MeganHeartsPets

Listen to the interview.

Looking for ways to be healthier without crash diets and unrealistic resolutions? Well-known nutritionist and author of the new book, The O2 Diet, Keri Glassman has easy and helpful tips on how to load up on foods with antioxidants that fortify your health and satisfy your hunger. Keri is a nutrition contributor to the CBS Early Show, an expert on WebMD, and writer for Women’s Health. To learn more about Keri, visit her site

Keri suggests these easy tips to add antioxidants to your diet every day:

· Spice up veggies with basil, oregano, garlic and mustard to add kick and health benefits

· Add lemon slices to water for added antioxidants

· Choose one new daily nutrition goal, such as swapping soda for water, or chips for nuts

·Top morning oatmeal with pistachios for more vitamin B-6

Listen to the interview.

Even when families aren’t feeling the pinch, saving money is a good idea. Deborah Way , Senior Editor of Disney FamilyFun joined me  to share her readers best tips and strategies for getting the most fun at the lowest cost:

·        See how it’s made: Take behind-the-scenes tours of local businesses. They are almost always free, and they’re educational (don’t tell the kids!) Possible businesses to tour: candy factory, working farm, grocery store, fire station, recycling plant.

·        Become park explorers: Explore public parks.  Each park will have a different mix of playground equipment to try out – discover parks you haven’t been to before in your town or city.

·        Take a frugal challenge: See what you can do with a set amount – “Let’s see what we can do with a ten-dollar bill.”  One good idea that comes under budget: visit a farm where you can feed the animals, enjoy snacks, and maybe even have change left over!

·        Make staying in special: Have a mock take-out dinner and movie night.  Preparing a fast-food type of dish at home keeps it healthier, and you can cut costs by buying DVDs rather than buying movie tickets for the whole family.

·        Track hidden treasure with geocachers: They use GPS devices to find hidden boxes containing logbooks and, occasionally, small treasures.  You’ll find places right near home you didn’t even know existed. For more information, click here [Read more →]

February is Heart Health Month and I care about yours so I want to encourage you to eat the superfoods that help protect your heart. Studiies have shown that superfoods for your heart contain fiber, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin C and plenty of antioxidants. How do these nutrients work? High fiber foods help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Folate decreases an amino acid which can lead to artery damage. Potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure levels and antioxidants can help prevent “bad” cholesterol. Put all these nutrients into one food and you can see it deserves the title super food. And when those food taste great, too, well now we’re talking! Eating foods that contain several of these nutrients is a great thing to do for your heart- and your palate.

A handful of fresh raspberries and some sliced almonds sprinkled over a bowl of crisp Dole Hearts of Romaine tastes great and feels great, too, because you know you’re protecting your heart. Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it for not just for heart health month but year round. You can find lots more information on superfoods and plenty of salad inspiration at Dole.com

FREE BUTTERMILK PANCAKES AT IHOP

National Pancake Day Celebration To Benefit Local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital

WHEN:  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

WHERE: Participating IHOP restaurants in the Cincinnati area and nationwide.

In celebration of National Pancake Day, IHOP restaurants nationwide will offer each guest a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes in an effort to raise awareness and funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

This year, IHOP is hoping to stack up more donations than ever before, with a goal to raise $1.75 million, for a total of $5 million five years with its National Pancake Day fundraising effort. To find a local IHOP or to donate online, visit www.ihoppancakeday.com.

For every  short stack of buttermilk pancakes served on National Pancake Day, IHOP guests are invited to make a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network. Donations made at IHOPs in the Cincinnati area will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Fun Facts From National Pancake Day 2009:

· Pancake lovers donated nearly $1.5 million to children’s charities, far exceeding the fundraising goal.

· IHOP served more than 2.5 million free pancakes on National Pancake Day 2009.

· All of the free pancakes served on National Pancake Day would create a stack more than 20 miles high.

· Since the inception of National Pancake Day in 2006, IHOP has raised more than $3.25 million and given away more than 6.1 million pancakes to support charities in the communities in which it operates.

· National Pancake Day 2009 was IHOP’s largest one-day event in the company’s 51-year history.

Listen to the interview.

Celebrity make up artist Candace Corey has worked for the top make up companies and her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Oprah magazine, Beauty News and Brides Noir- all in the same month. She has created the faces on E! Entertainment Network and Access Hollywood. She’s a self taught makeup artist who says, “I never chose makeup artistry, makeup artistry chose me.”

Candace made over listeners Laura and Shelly and gave all of us the greatest tips. You can follow Candace on her blog and go behind the scenes with celebrities and get do-able make up tips. Click here for more information.