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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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Thomas Edison once said:  “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Here’s a shocking statistic: 17 million Americans suffer from heart disease. February is American Heart Month and so there is no better time to talk to  Joe Pescatalli, who may be the longest-surviving bypass patient in the world – 32 years and counting, and the author of Positive Mind, Healthy Heart . Joe has been a keen observer of lifestyle  habits since 1977, when open-heart surgery forced him to recognize the intimate connection between diet, exercise and stress diet and overall health. As president of the Institute for Fitness and Health, Inc. in  Gig Harbor , Washington, he lectures extensively to a variety of clients, has written eleven books including the million copy bestseller Don’t Eat Your Heart Out, and hosted the PBS special Take A Load Off Your Heart.

Joe joined me this morning to discuss his 6 simple principles to live healthy and fit for a lifetime:

1. Develop Resiliency
2. Develop Perseverance
3. Take Responsibilities for Yourself and Your Actions
4. Set Realistic Goals
5. Get Straight Information
6. Have Faith

“Falling down is not the failure. Not getting back up is the failure.”

As I’m eating my oatmeal (with diced apple, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon- yum!) I realize that many people think of breakfast as a purely optional meal.  If you’re nodding your head in agreement, let me just say “enough of this craziness- eat breakfast” ! Whether you’re too rushed, trying to save calories or just don’t have a morning appetite, you need to get past all that and start your day off right. What should you do? Here are some quick tips to get you back on track:

1. Start with something simple, convenient and useful. Energy bars that have at least 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein and are less than 250 calories are a great start. You can keep a box in your car, a couple in your purse or briefcase and in your office drawer.

2. Expand breakfast into a real meal. Once you’ve gotten in the habit of eating an energy bar, try to branch out into a real breakfast. Keep oatmeal and granola in your cupboard and serve it with milk or yogurt. (The oatmeal I described above is made with regular oatmeal (not quick cooking or instant) and takes 1 minute 45 seconds in the microwave)

3. Keep eating. Mini meals throughout the day, about every 4 hours, will keep hunger at bay and your energy level up.

You’re going to feel better, I promise!

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Relationship expert Amy Spencer has written for Glamour, New York, Harper’s Bazaar, Page Six Magazine and Match.com among other publications, and is the former host of a relationship call-in show on Sirius satellite radio’s Maxim channel.

Though Amy found her “half orange” she understands that being single can be depressing and that it’s easy to go crazy trying to attract the right person your way.  She says you don’t have to change who you  are, play games, exhaust yourself with countless dates, convince yourself  that you might be able to develop feelings for someone or make dating your  job. The ONLY thing you have to do is to live your genuine life so positively that you will literally attract the right person to yourself! What’s the secret to all of this? Decide with 100% confidence that great love will come your way by focusing your whole mind and body on how incredible it will feel when it does.

Why a half-orange? It’s based on the Spanish term mi media naranja (“my half-orange”), used to describe one’s sweetheart, one’s perfect other half.  In her book, Meeting Your Half Orange: An Utterly Optimistic Guide to Using Dating Optimism to Find Your Perfect Match, Amy shares the 6 phases for properly planting the seeds of success for love.

1. BELIEVE YOU CAN HAVE IT.

2. ADMIT YOU WANT IT.

3. WHAT DO YOU WANT?

4. FOCUS AND IMAGINE FEELING IT.

5. LIVE A HAPPY LIFE

6. HOW TO RECOGNIZE YOUR HALF-ORANGE.

For more information, visit amy-spencer.com, thedatingoptimist.com, and meetingyourhalforange.com.