Nutrition Corner

7 Best Fruits for More Energy, Recommended by a Dietitian: We all have times when we feel like we need an energy boost.

Running a fall marathon? Here's how to fuel your way to the finish line: A marathon-friendly diet should include enough calories and adequate protein.

Recipe for The Day

Apple Bread Recipe: Each bite of this deliciously sweet Apple Bread is packed with chunks of apple and hints of cinnamon and vanilla.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

5 Steps to Healthy, Happy Aging

• Stay Physically Active for a Healthy Body and Mind: Exercise can help offset many of the effects of aging. According to Medline Plus, exercising regularly can improve your balance, help keep you mobile, improve your mood by reducing feelings of anxiety and depression, and contribute to better cognitive functioning.

• Stay Socially Active With Friends and Family and Within Your Community: Making the effort to interact with family and friends can have numerous benefits for your health as you age. One article found that participants (all age 65 and older) who reported higher levels of social activity were more likely to experience more positive moods, fewer negative feelings, and higher levels of physical activity.

• Follow a Healthy, Well-Balanced Diet: To get the nutrition your body needs for healthy aging and lower your risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, make whole foods that are high in fiber and low in saturated fat the foundation of your diet.

• Don’t Neglect Yourself: Schedule Checkups and Stick to Them Regular checkups with your doctor, dentist, eye doctor, and specialist healthcare providers are opportunities to catch problems early and treat them before they become bigger problems.

• Quit Smoking to Lower Your Risk of Cancer and Heart Disease: If you’re a smoker, you’ll want to quit as a matter of urgency. The health benefits of quitting smoking include lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart rate; a lower risk of cancer, diabetes, and lung damage; and stronger bones, muscles, and immune system.

4 Quick Self-Help Steps for Depression

• Spend more time with sympathetic friends and relatives: Talking about our feelings helps us process them, put them into perspective, and obtain advice and support. Don’t be afraid to tell people that you need their time, or feel guilty for taking it.

• Do more of the things you normally enjoy, even if they no longer seem appealing: Re-read your favourite childhood book, re-watch your favourite rom-com, go shopping or to the cinema, prepare a delicious meal, renew with an old friend—anything that removes you from your negative thoughts is likely to make things that much better.

• Get out of your home at least once a day, even if only to fetch milk or walk in the park: Bright daylight, fresh air, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life can all be helpful, as can the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. If you can, try to take some mild exercise such as a 30- or 60-minute walk—if possible, through some greenery, on a stretch of coastline, or past some beautiful buildings. Close your eyes and listen to the birds and the wind.

• Fight off negative thoughts: Make a list of all the positive things about you and your life (you may need help with this), keep it in your bag, pocket, or wallet, and read it to yourself every morning or as needed. However bad you may be feeling, remember that you have not always felt this way, and will not always feel this way.

Become a better cook by avoiding these 6 common mistakes

• Not reading the recipe all the way through: Before you start cooking, make sure you a) have all the ingredients, b) think through the timing of the steps and c) look up directions that might be confusing.

• Using too small a tool: Bigger is mostly better when it comes to kitchen prep. It means less mess, less overflow in the oven and, often, more safety.

• Not prepping ingredients: As you get more comfortable in the kitchen, you will learn to multi-task, so you are mincing fresh herbs while the chopped onions are browning. But if you’re still getting your kitchen sea legs, have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking.

• Working with a dull knife: Sharp knives are safer than dull ones that slip and slide. Many kitchen stores, like Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table, will sharpen knives, and you can look for other places online. You might even be able to get your knives picked up and dropped off.

• Fiddling with food as it cooks: Leave it be! So many people feel the need to poke and stir and flip way too early. Let your meat char on the grill before trying to flip it. Let your broccoli sear in the pan before tossing. Only when food has some sustained time up against direct heat will it brown and caramelize.

• Taking the suggested cooking time on the package as gospel: When I cook pasta at home, I never follow the cooking times on the package. I generally cook it two minutes less. This way, after you strain it and it sits a little, it won’t overcook.

Flat Butt: 3 Tips

• Cardio for Glutes: Two exercises that can work your glutes and add cardio to your workout include side skates and power skips. You should also be doing more with your cardio than steady treadmill runs if you want to lift your butt and zero in on the glute.

• Stretching: Putting all of your body weight on your butt for hours upon hours each day can actually change its shape. Sitting also shortens and tightens the hip flexors, which impacts our ability to really activate both our glutes and core even when we're not seated.

• Unilateral Movements: Certain moves we often associate with the glutes recruit other large lower-body muscles (namely the quadriceps) to do most of the work.

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