When you feel dehydrated, you may often find yourself reaching out for a soda can from your refrigerator. Or you may prefer to drink flavored water or packaged fruit juice. Although these drinks might quench your thirst, they are not fit for your body. Carbonated beverages, packaged fruits juices, and flavored water contain artificial sweeteners, caffeine, synthetic flavors, and other chemicals that can harm your health in the long run. So the next time you want to hydrate yourself or if you are craving a delicious drink, pick a natural and healthy juice or beverage. It’s quite easy to make these healthy drinks at home with seasonal fruits and vegetables. You will have a lot of options such as watermelon juice, aloe vera juice, or any mixed fruit mocktail. These are some of the most healthy drinks that will not only quench your thirst but also replenish your body by providing essential nutrients. Cranberry juice : Vibrant looking cranberries are commonly used during the festive season to make stuffing, sauces, and food decorations. It is loaded with antioxidants and has antibacterial properties too. These help in fighting age-related diseases such as diabetes and heart problems. Drinking cranberry juice is known to be effective in treating urinary tract infection. It also promotes a healthy digestive system. For women, cranberry juice can help to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Cranberry juice has an astringent quality. Hence, it is often mixed with other fruit juices or added to smoothies. Although it one of the most healthy drinks, cranberry juice is high in acidic content. Hence, people with acidity problems should avoid it. Children are also advised to drink only a limited amount of cranberry juice. People who take certain medications such as antibiotics, blood pressure medicines, and blood-thinning medicines are also advised against drinking cranberry juice as they could face adverse reactions and side-effects.

The first meal of the day or breakfast is a great way to boost your morning and prepare for a power-packed day. An ideal meal provides all the vital nutrients that our bodies need to carry out our day-to-day activities. Moreover, as our grandmas have always said, not only does breakfast act as a great start to the day, but it also provides a host of health benefits. A healthy breakfast is a boon as it contributes to regulating our sugar levels and also aids in maintaining a healthy weight. Individuals may often miss out on breakfast due to their hectic schedule and the inability to whip up a quick meal after waking up. While an elaborate and healthy spread may be preferable, it does not seem like the most realistic idea. At such times, an energy bar can come to the rescue. It is a quick snack that one can have before walking through the door. However, it is time to stop consuming packaged breakfast bars regularly as they can cause more harm than good. Loaded with sugar and preservatives, these can leave you feeling dull or give you an intense sugar rush. Instead, one should turn to healthy breakfast bar recipes as anyone can create these great alternatives in their kitchen. It will prevent the consumption of chemical additives and save on shelling too much money. What’s more? Many websites have gluten-free breakfast bar recipes that make for an excellent meal to kick-start the day. Here are three tempting gluten-free healthy breakfast bar recipes to try now! Oatmeal and Choco banana bar The oatmeal and choco-banana bar is very delicious and an absolute treat, especially for chocolate lovers. The dish is chewy, soft, and can be wiped up with milk super conveniently. To prepare this tasty oatmeal and choco-banana bar, preheat the oven to 350°F and set aside a square baking tray lined with greased foil.

In today’s fast-paced life, finding time for yourself can be quite challenging. The sedentary lifestyle coupled with unhealthy eating habits can add a few extra pounds here and there. Being overweight can open the floodgates to a variety of illnesses that can be life-threatening in certain cases. Once people get a health scare, they try to mend their ways by eating right and exercising. Adhering to a diet for the three major meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — isn’t a herculean task. What tests one’s conviction to lose weight and eat healthy are the snack times where our minds involuntarily wander to the hot dog stall outside the office or to the fries and burgers that are just a click away. These food items have an incredible way of enticing our taste buds, which is why we often deter from consuming something as bland as a salad. Instead of giving in to your whims and wasting the hours you toiled hard in the gym, you can satisfy your palate and continue on your weight loss journey by trying these easy healthy snack ideas to keep you full in between meals. Hard-boiled eggs and avocado bowl Eggs are a powerhouse of all essential nutrients you need to lose weight and stay healthy at the same time. What makes it easier for you to try this easy healthy snack idea is that it is extremely simple to make and it will keep your tummy full for longer. To prepare this easy healthy snack idea, you will need two hard-boiled eggs, half avocado, red onion, red bell pepper, sea salt, and ground pepper. Combine the eggs, avocado, onion, and bell pepper in a bowl, and sprinkle sea salt and ground pepper on it. Mix it well, and munch away. Creamy apple and cinnamon smoothie Smoothies are an amazing way of appeasing your taste buds and eating healthy at the same time.

Juices are one of the easiest ways to add healthy nutrients to one’s diet without having to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. These juices taste delicious and provide all the necessary nutrients. Health experts recommend consuming six to eight servings of whole fruits and vegetables which can be difficult to achieve. If you are one of those people who struggle to consume an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables, then continue reading to find out about the top 10 healthy juices. These top 10 healthy juices mentioned below will help you cope with specific health issues. Energy-boosting juice A marvelous replacement for coffee is green juice. The green pigments in plants contain chlorophyll that helps in oxygenating the blood, increasing the brain function as well as physical energy. You need to use one large cucumber, a handful of kale, parsley, and spinach, eight stalks of celery, a small piece of ginger, and half a lemon to make this juice. Juice for healthy skin Vegetables and fruit juices, when combined appropriately, help in removing crud from the blood as well as the tissues. It helps in restoring alkalinity to the body and balancing the system. This juice also helps in making the skin look younger and provides energy too. The main ingredients of this juice are one or two cucumbers and a small piece of apple. Juice to relieve stress After a long and tiring day, you can turn to this juice to feel a little relieved and relaxed. This juice consists of only four ingredients — spinach, celery, broccoli, and carrots. Spinach is high in a naturally-occurring amino acid called tryptophan, which is great for elevating your mood and also helps you sleep better. This drink also has high levels of magnesium that helps in relaxing the muscles and nerves.

Often because of the morning rush, you might be tempted to empty a packet of processed cereals and pour some milk over it for breakfast before you rush to work or school. But the next time you do this, pause and think. Are these cereals healthy or do they contain artificial sweeteners? The truth is that many people like to have something sweet for breakfast and there is no harm in indulging these cravings occasionally. However, it is vital that these recipes are healthy and don’t contain any added sugar. Don’t know how to prepare healthy and sweet recipes for breakfast? Here are three easy dessert recipes that you can make for breakfast. Strawberry banana oatmeal muffins Can you think of a healthier breakfast recipe than one that contains eggs, fruits, and oats? To make this mouthwatering muffin, you will need strawberries, banana, oats, eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, butter, and cinnamon. Firstly, preheat the oven to 425° F degrees. Grease some muffin cups and keep them aside. To make the oatmeal streusel topping, which is nothing but the crumbly topping on the muffin, grab a small bowl and mix the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. To make the muffin batter, whip the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Take another bowl, beat the eggs, and add the sugar and butter mixture to this bowl. Add mashed bananas and strawberries to it. Now take all the dry ingredients like flour, baking soda, and salt and carefully sift them into the bowl which contains the mixture. Later, pour this prepared mixture into the muffin cups and add the streusel toppings on each of the muffins. After 5 minutes of baking, reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and continue to bake for the next 15 minutes.

Living with a chronic condition can take the fun out of many things, and that’s exactly how people with diabetes feel. They have to constantly monitor their blood sugar levels, as hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia might be just around the corner. People with diabetes are taught to coexist with the condition, as there is no complete cure discovered for this ailment that affects more than 100 million people in the country. Diabetes is a condition that arises due to the body’s inability to create or process insulin, which causes disparities in the blood sugar levels. What we eat has a major impact on our blood sugar levels, and people with diabetes have to be extra cautious about what they eat, as it can dramatically alter their blood sugar levels. However, this doesn’t imply that a person with diabetes has to completely give up eating tasty food just because tasty equals unhealthy in a diabetic individual’s dictionary. In addition to the three square meals that are imperative for a diabetic to consume, it is equally important for them to keep munching on snacks every two to three hours, as it will keep their blood sugar levels steady. Instead of sulking about eating salads for snacks, here are some easy snack recipes you can try making. You can rest assured, as these easy snack recipes are absolutely diabetes-friendly, and they wouldn’t tamper with your blood sugar levels. Sliced apples with peanut butter Apple is the quintessential nutritious fruit; it contains a plethora of nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, and B vitamins, and when it is paired with the all-time favorite peanut butter, you have just created the uber-nutritious easy snack to binge on. Contrary to what people believe, peanut butter is quite healthy; it contains specific amounts of vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium, each of which plays a major role in helping manage diabetes.

Making healthy food choices can be very difficult and mettle-testing, especially when you are trying to lose weight. The road to healthy weight loss is through discipline and not giving in to unhealthy food choices. Unfortunately, some food items that assist in weight loss might not taste appetizing. However, with some creative pairing, you can whip up some of the most mouth-watering recipes for weight loss from seemingly unappetizing food. Here are some easy snack recipes that require minimum ingredients to assist in healthy weight loss: Sweet potato fries – These are a healthy replacement to your regular potato fries deep fried in vegetable oil. Sweet potato fries contain a healthy dose of beta-carotene, which is good for general immunity and vision. Here’s how can make yourself a healthy treat out of sweet potatoes and a handful of other ingredients. Preparation – Slice two medium-sized (scrubbed and peeled) sweet potatoes into julienne strips. Preheat an oven to 450-degrees Fahrenheit. Combine half a tablespoon of red chili powder and black pepper in a bowl. Add one or two tablespoons (based on your preference) of extra-virgin olive oil and toss and coat all the sweet potato slices. Place these slices in a single layer on an aluminium foil or non-stick cooking sheet. Bake for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes turn crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Do not forget to toss the potatoes once after 15 minutes of baking. Baked zucchini chips – Crispy, salty, and full of unhealthy fats, potato chips are quick-fixes for those untimely hunger pangs. Replace them with these healthy baked zucchini chips that contain a mere 99 calories per serving. Zucchini is rich in saturated fats and helps balance the sodium levels in your body. It also helps improve digestion and slows the aging process.

Kids can be extremely picky eaters, and dealing with their mid-day hunger pangs is always a tough task. However, snack time is a central part of a kid’s day. As soon as hunger pangs set in, they can feel irritated, get cranky, and experience intense mood swings. Keeping their little tummies full is the only way to get their cheerful selves back. While you may understand the importance of feeding healthy snacks to your kids, you might not be able to take out sufficient time in the day to prepare these snacks. Parents juggle between different tasks and often give in to packaged foods as an easy solution. However, we have some good news for you. You can create several easy and irresistible snacks in your kitchen. Not only do they taste delicious, but also keep up the energy levels of your little ones. Without further ado, here are some easy snack recipes that you can create quickly: Cherry tomato and yogurt dip: The cherry tomato and yogurt dip is an easy and vibrant snack that is loved by most kids. The bright red color of the cherry tomatoes contrasts with the creamy yogurt, making this snack even more appealing. Cherry tomatoes are yummy and are abundantly available, especially during the summers. Moreover, they are healthy as they are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants. They also boost the immune system. Pairing these tomatoes with a rich Greek yogurt will replenish your little one’s protein levels. This delectable snack is bound to be a hit with children and adults alike. Crunchy crispy chickpeas: Most kids love crunchy foods that can be finished quickly. What could be better than some healthy and crispy chickpeas? To make this easy snack, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Now rinse and drain some canned chickpeas and drizzle some olive oil, salt, and garlic powder over it.

Though progress in medical science has eradicated several life-threatening diseases, there are some ailments that cannot be cured entirely. Such chronic ailments cannot be treated, but there are innovative ways of bringing it under control and successfully coexisting with the said condition. One such chronic condition that alters an individual’s life is diabetes mellitus. This condition is a group of metabolic diseases that bring about dramatic changes in an individual’s blood sugar levels, either due to the inadequate production of insulin or because their body’s cells do not respond favorably to insulin. About 100 million people in the country are affected by diabetes or are in the prediabetes stage. Poor eating habits or one’s genetic predisposition make an individual more susceptible to developing diabetes at any stage of their lives. Though diabetes is a distressing health condition, with the right diabetes medication like metformin, insulin injections, and glyburide, a balanced diet, and regular exercise regime, you can bring the ailment under control. Moreover, there are medications to keep the complications associated with diabetes like heart problems or foot complications in check. In combination, all of these factors will ensure that you control this ailment’s progression. However, at times, even these medications and lifestyle choices aren’t enough to bring the elevated blood sugar levels in control or to stabilize its levels. At this point, your doctor might add Ozempic® (Semaglutide) to your diabetes medications. Ozempic® is a glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist which is engineered for people with type 2 diabetes as glucagon and insulin are the hormones that work in unison to bring the blood sugar levels under control, but in opposing ways. This glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist works by helping the body produce more insulin on its own. Ozempic® is available in the form of a prefilled pen and is administered subcutaneously.

While most Americans are fighting a common battle to lose weight, one part of the population is struggling to gain weight. Gaining and losing weight are equally difficult to achieve. People who want to gain weight in a healthy manner often join a gym to gain muscle mass and increase their appetite. Though these changes in lifestyle can be enough to gain muscle mass and weight, if one includes healthy snacks in their diet, they could accelerate this process. Healthy snacks have multiple health benefits, which is why people should add these to their diet. However, most people find it difficult to keep up with a healthy snacking habit as these snacks are not available in stores and preparing them can be quite time-consuming. At such times, you can look up several easy snack recipes on the internet that will help you gain weight. You can prepare these at home without using too many ingredients or spending too much time. Nuts and dried fruits You don’t need any pre-preparation to consume nuts. You can buy good quality raw nuts from several stores. You can choose nuts like cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, apricots, and raisins for a quick and easy snack between your meals. All nuts contain over 90% fat. Fat has nine calories per gram, making these nuts one of the most effective foods for gaining weight. Apart from healthy weight gain, nuts and dried fruits have several other health benefits. They provide antioxidants, proteins, and nutrients to the body, and reduce cholesterol. Smoothies Smoothies are easy to make and are the best food item to consume as a snack for gaining weight. They also contribute to your health by providing balanced nutrition to your body. You can make yourself a glass of strawberry avocado smoothie, banana peanut butter smoothie, chocolate banana smoothie, chocolate peanut butter smoothie, or peaches and orange juice smoothie.