"Top 10" Do's & Don'ts for Achieving Better Health in 2010
By Kathleen Daelemans, Keri Glassman and Alyse Levine

Don't Skip Meals: It slows your metabolism. Think of your body as a fire that needs fuel to keep burning. Eat small meals with some protein, healthy fats or fiber every three to four hours.

Don't Keep What You Know You Shouldn't Eat: If you can manage to restrain yourself from buying junk food while you're in the grocery store, that's half the battle. But if you cave at the store and end up bringing home a treat or two, have one serving and give away the rest. Don't keep foods that tempt you around the house and there will be nothing grab when you're starving. Additionally, you'll figure out how to satisfy those cravings without food.

Do Keep a Food Journal: If you write down everything you eat, you'll feel more accountable for what you put in your mouth, and less likely to grab that handful of candy or salty chips in the afternoon. "Keeping a food journal wasn't something I could embrace on my journey to lose 75 pounds", says Daelemans but I did keep score in my head. More importantly, I took the time to familiarize myself with the nutrition information in the foods I was bingeing on and foods I knew were high calorie. By paying attention to these high calorie foods, I didn't have to write things down. It's easy to fool yourself into thinking you're eating less than you really are when you don't write things down so figure out what will work for you as far as keeping track of your calories and stick with it!"

Do Trick Yourself: Layer nutrient-rich foods into your day and you'll find that you have less room for the foods you're trying to ditch from your diet. It's easier than you think. Top your morning oatmeal with pistachios—The Green Nut. That's right, you'll be easily adding up to 20 percent of your Daily Value of B6 and extra crunch! Add antioxidant rich pre-grated carrots and dried cranberries to salads. You'll feel full faster and stay satisfied longer. Add a frozen microwave veggie to every meal. It takes less than a minute to "cook" frozen veggies in the microwave. Your reward? More nutrition, more fiber, more well rounded meals and all the confidence and increased self-esteem you can eat!

Do Play Once a Day: Instead of watching from the window, play with your kids and burn calories while building memories. If you don't have children, push yourself to take the first step if you're not currently exercising. If you can't muster the discipline or if chronic pain or winter blues are holding you back, if you have a medical all clear from your physician, treat yourself to an appointment with a trainer.

You bet it's a splurge but when you're paying for an expert's time, you're more likely to show up. Let your trainer know you can only budget in a couple of appointments. Focus the time designing a program you can do on your own when your sessions are over. Take copious notes and use that Voice Memo on your phone!

Do Choose a Daily Nutrition Goal: Add lemon slices to your water for increased antioxidants, kick that sugary soda habit just for today, work in an extra serving of low sugar fruit at dinner. Yes dinner. It will help fill you up a little more and curb tendencies to snack before bedtime. Think strawberries, blueberries, fresh melon, apples or small bananas. Master today's goal, and then move on to the next one.

Do Pack Power Into Your Diet with Antioxidants: Include nutrient-rich foods in your diet to help pump up your immune system and keep energy levels high. For some great options, think "green": green vegetables, green tea and green pistachios (the only green nut).

Do Use The Plate Rule At All Your Meals: 1/4 of your plate should be lean protein, including lean cuts of meat such as thinly sliced pork tenderloin, breast of chicken or turkey and fish. 1/4 of your plate can consist of nutrient dense "starches" such as brown, refried beans, chick peas, baked sweet potatoes and roasted squash. Lastly, pile on the veggies and help yourself to seconds! 1/2 your plate should be filled with them—think bagged mixed baby greens, bagged baby spinach and broccoli slaw. Invest in a mandolin and slaw yourself slim! It's easy to make quick work of slicing or julienning fennel, apples, jícama, celery root and fresh beets—all great additions to salads and slaws.

Don't Eat Off of Your Kid's Plate: All those little bites really add up and can have a big impact on your weight. Picture yourself being filmed on Live Television every time you put something "extra" in your mouth. Assess yourself with a 100-calorie fine for every bite. Once you start running those numbers in your head and picturing yourself "busted" in front of family and friends, you'll change your ways!

Do Spice it Up: Think Sweet, Sour, Salty Bitter. We naturally seek out a balance of these flavors every time we eat. When "something's missing", maybe the soup was too bland, the salad dressing too dull or the chicken too boring, many of us tend to talk ourselves into believing we were gypped out of a good meal and therefore deserve dessert. I know you know what I'm talking about. I can't be the only one!

The reason another serving, or even dessert pops into our heads when we're not satisfied is because our bodies are talking to us. When you're in the kitchen cooking, make a conscious effort to balance flavors—and remember sweet doesn't mean sugar or Splenda. There were no sugar bowls in caves. Sure a pinch of sugar is okay but a drizzle of Maple Syrup is even better and naturally sweet fruits and vegetables are excellent choices too.

Challenge yourself to work in one new high impact flavor ingredient every time you cook and think beyond processed foods! My favorite ingredients; sherry, champagne and balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and shallots, half a minced Thai chili pepper (or chili flakes, chili sauce), the zest of a lemon, lime or orange, grated pungent cheese such as Pecorino Romano, aged Provolone, Ricotta Salata and Parmesan. Heavens no I don't do all that mincing from scratch, I use a Microplane grater for all that fine hand work and you should too. More favorite flavor boosters: capers, specialty mustards, Chinese and Japanese condiments, Ginger (freshly grated and pickled), 100% Pure Maple Syrup, and my father's favorite…chopped anchovies (they dissolve every time). No one figures it out ever. They're too busy swooning over the finished dish.

When you reach for spices, especially salt and pepper, remember, they do not have the shelf life of books! Purchase them in small quantities and purchase them often. Penzeys is a wonderful source for seasonings and you can buy them online. Be sure to request a catalog. They carefully explain how to use each and every product and every issue is filled with recipes you'll likely want to make over and over again.

The Latest Research Findings
According to the American Association for Cancer Research, a diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung cancer and other cancers—due to the levels of Vitamin E in The Green Nut. To learn more about this exciting new study, visit: http://www.thegreennut.org/health/research/2009-12-09-lung-cancer.html. For more healthy tips, visit www.thegreennut.org