This week, we featured the in-season kiwi in sweet and savory recipes.

First up is a refreshing Winter Fruit Salad with Maple-Lime Dressing.

Winter Fruit Salad with Maple-Lime Dressing

Whip up this hearty Prosciutto, Goat Cheese & Kiwi Toast for breakfast.

Prosciutto Goat Cheese & Kiwi Toast

This beautiful Raw Blueberry and Kiwi Tart will be a hit at holiday parties.

Raw Blueberry and Kiwi Tart

Make this easy and healthy Kiwi Chia Pudding with Coconut Milk for dessert.

Cleansing Kiwi Chia Pudding with Coconut Milk

Kiwi and Avocado Chicken Salad makes the perfect light lunch.

Kiwi and Avocado Chicken Salad

Make Coconut Kiwi Banana Bread for a tropical snack or breakfast.

Image and Recipe via The Baking Robot

Vegan Kiwi Mango Cheesecake will be a holiday showstopper.

Vegan Kiwi Mango Cheesecake

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The post Healthy Kiwi Recipes appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

My childhood lunch menu:

Appetizer

• Banana
• In-season apple

Entrée

• Olive loaf sandwich on soft white bread, with lavishly applied mayonnaise (The sandwich had to be cut on the diagonal, or I wouldn’t eat it.)
• Fresh Fritos in an individual bag serving

Dessert

• Hostess Ding Dong or Sno Balls

Beverages

• Sweet tea, chocolate milk, or Kool-Aid

There was little variation in this menu when my brother and I were little kids, and our mom saw little reason to change it. She, and countless other mothers at that time, felt this was a nutritious, filling lunch for 2 growing boys. On the positive side, the Fritos were made from corn, so it counted as a vegetable.

After lunch, Mom expected us to lie down and take a nap. We never went to sleep for some reason, but at least she got a few moments of peace and quiet.

OK, so this was probably not the most nutritious meal we could have eaten, but our supper was usually a well-balanced meal. However, dessert was a nightly occurrence, and a spectacular Jell-O salad often graced the table. Neither my brother nor I seem to have suffered any ill effects. At least not yet.

Remember, this was a time when candy cigarettes and bubble gum cigars were common treats for kids. Flavored sugar water in tiny wax bottles was a Halloween staple, for reasons that are still unclear to me now. SweeTARTS were an odd and unexplainable pleasure, and we ate them by the fistful.

In retrospect, my food preferences have certainly changed over the years. I refused anything with cheese in it, except for a grilled cheese sandwich. I guess in my head, the grilling made it acceptable. I wouldn’t eat a vegetable unless it was cooked to death. That is definitely not the case now. I needed all my seafood encased in a crispy, fried batter, and I remember hating beets. Wait, I still hate beets.

I think we all develop our palates over time and grow to have more complex taste preferences. Healthier eating seems a lot more attainable these days, at least if we make the choice.

But occasionally, I still grow nostalgic for the treats I enjoyed as a child. I recently bought some olive loaf and white bread so that I could recreate my childhood favorite.

It was disgusting.

Patrick Harness is a community liaison with a long history of experience in health insurance. If you ask him to pick a color, he always chooses orange, and he is known for his inability to parallel park.

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With the holidays fast-approaching, I think fondly of my mother. She was a private and commercial cook for over 40 years and was very good about making our family eat balanced meals. Of course, she included my school lunches in that quest as well.

Like every kid, I wanted a lunch just like my friends’. Their menus consisted of:

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Bags of chips
• Carrots (only a few)
• A Twinkie or Hostess cupcake

My mother had other ideas. Here’s an example of what my lunches consisted of:

• Meatloaf sandwich
• Cut-up celery
• An apple or pear
• A box of raisins

To a sixth-grader, this was so not cool. I pleaded and begged with my mom to change what she was putting in my lunches, to no avail. By high school, I was buying lunch, and she never knew what I ate.

Fast forward to my lunches as an adult. Most days, I eat leftovers from dinner the night before, which works out great because they are well-balanced meals. However, on those days when I am on-the-go out of the office, it’s a little bit more work to eat a balanced meal. I sometimes feel like I am channeling my mother, or she’s haunting me.

I think all of our tastes develop and get more complex as we get older. And with that, healthier eating gets easier, especially if we make the choice. I find myself making that choice by looking for places to eat where the food is served fresh, well-balanced, and healthy.

And every once in a while, I still find myself wanting a Twinkie or a Hostess cupcake, well…just because I can.

Joy Stanford is a community liaison with Health Alliance, serving Thurston County. She’s been involved with Medicare for 20+ years and truly enjoys it. She enjoys gospel, R&B, and country music, and she owns over 100 pairs of shoes.

The post Vantage Point: Eating Like a Grown-Up appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

This week, we have some healthy holiday dishes for your parties and meals.

First up is a guilt-free appetizer, Turkey Cranberry Meatballs.

Turkey Cranberry Meatballs

These easy Roasted Cranberry and Goat Cheese Flatbreads are like holiday pizza.

roasted cranberry and goat cheese flatbreads

Cranberry Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Balls help you keep your holiday portions under control.

Cranberry Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Balls

One Pan Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Chicken is a simple meal for holiday entertaining.

One Pan Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Chicken {Paleo}

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes & Figs are the perfect holiday potluck side.

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Grapes & Figs – Gluten Free Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Hearty Caramelized Onion Apple Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash is great for holiday guests.

Caramelized Onion Apple Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash {Paleo & Whole30}

Make holiday dessert easy with Baked Pears with Honey, Cranberries, and Pecans.

Baked Pears with Honey, Cranberries and Pecans

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This week, we featured healthy holiday breakfast recipes for your holiday vacations.

First up is simple and hearty Slow Cooker Gingerbread Oatmeal your family will love.

Slow Cooker Gingerbread Oatmeal

Pop this Veggie-Loaded Breakfast Casserole into the oven while your family opens presents.

Veggie-Loaded Breakfast Casserole

Clean Cranberry Orange Scones are perfect for a light breakfast before big holiday meals.

Image and Recipe via Amy’s Healthy Baking

Make these delicious Vegan Cinnamon Rolls for a guilt-free morning indulgence.

Image and Recipe via Hot for Food

Winter Fruit and Yogurt Breakfast Bowls with Gingerbread Granola are super simple.

Winter Fruit and Yogurt Breakfast Bowls with Gingerbread Granola

One-Bowl Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins with Maple Vanilla Glaze are great at home or to take into the office.

One Bowl Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins with Maple Vanilla Glaze

Whip up Breakfast Fajitas with the ingredients you have on hand for an easy holiday breakfast.

Breakfast Fajitas

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This week, we had some healthy holiday snacks for your get-togethers.

First up are simple Healthy Pomegranate Chocolate Candy Cups.

Healthy Pomegranate Chocolate Candy Cups

This Candy Cane Nice Cream is perfect for the whole family.

Candy Cane Nice Cream

Whip up these Healthy Almond and Cinnamon Christmas Star cookies for Santa.

Healthy Almond and Cinnamon Christmas Stars

This Skinny Peppermint Fudge is perfect as a gift or for holiday parties.

SKINNY PEPPERMINT FUDGE

If you prefer savory snacks, make these easy Cranberry and Feta Pinwheels.

Cranberry and Feta Pinwheels

This Warm Gingerbread Breakfast Smoothie is easy and delicious.

warm gingerbread breakfast smoothie

Throw together Gingerbread Glazed Roasted Nuts for party finger food.

Gingerbread Glazed Roasted Nuts

The post Healthy Holiday Snacks appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

As you get ready to take on a new year, we can help you start meal planning for success.

Use these tips to get started.

So You Want to Start Meal Planning

Interested in trying a vegan diet? This meal plan can help you make a smart effort.

Weekly Vegan Meal Plan #1 (Shopping List Included): Zero waste and less effort

Learn to mix and match for the perfect meal.

Prepare to shop for a smooth trip to the store.

Before You Shop

These tips can help you make smart and healthy choices at the grocery store.

Grocery Shop Like a Pro

Looking for healthy meals you can prep in advance? These freezer meals are perfect for you.

24 Healthy Freezer-Friendly Dinner Recipes

Not much of a cook? Try some of these No-Cook Meal Prep ideas.

No-Cook Meal Prep for the 1,800–2,100 Calorie Level

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Winter preparations are all done, and winter festivals and end-of-the-year holiday celebrations have ended. Just when you think you can sit back and relax, there is still one last item you may need to consider.

If you made any changes to your Medicare plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, here are some actions you can take to help you have a happy Medicare New Year:

1. Make sure you’ve received your new plan’s member ID card.

If you joined a Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP) that works with Original Medicare, you’ll get a separate card to use when you fill your prescriptions, but you’ll still use your Medicare card for hospital and doctor services.

If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan, like a Health Alliance plan, you’ll get a new card to use when filling your prescriptions and for hospital and doctor visits.

If you need medical care or need to fill a prescription before you receive your ID card and your new coverage has already started, you may be able to use other documents as proof of coverage, like the welcome letter you got from the plan, or even your enrollment confirmation number and the plan’s name and phone number.

2. Show your new member ID card to your doctor’s office and pharmacist on your first visit of the new year.

If you have stayed with the same insurance company, be sure to replace last year’s card with your new card. If you changed companies, be sure you’re always using your new card.

3. If you chose to have your plan premium withheld from your Social Security check, don’t be alarmed if you don’t see it deducted right away. It can take up to 3 months from when you made this request to start seeing it withheld from your Social Security payment.

4. Remember that your deductibles start over at the beginning of the year, so normal copayments won’t start until all applicable deductibles have been met for the year.

5. Take advantage of your annual wellness visit. This free preventive benefit is designed to help you take charge of your health, learn about preventive services you might need in the future, and establish a baseline for personalized care.

6. Take advantage of any gym membership benefits from your plan. Many plans offer gym memberships or access to fitness activities, at no cost to you. Our Be Fit benefit helps pay you back for your gym membership or fitness classes, so you can get fit at the gym of your choice.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2017!

Sherry Gordon-Harris is a community liaison at Health Alliance. She is a wife and mother of 2 boys and enjoys traveling, collecting dolls, and hosting princess parties and princess pageants.

Breck Obermeyer is a community liaison with Health Alliance, serving Yakima County. She is a homegrown girl from Naches and has a great husband who can fix anything and 2 kids who are her world. When not attending community events or providing Medicare education throughout the Valley, she can be found indulging in her hobbies of homesteading, pioneer cooking, and learning new survival techniques. She also has a strong love for all things Halloween.

The post Long View & Vantage Point: Steps to a Happy Medicare New Year appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

Looking for ways to cut back the sugar in your diet? We have low-sugar recipes to help!

Skip the store-bought with these quick and easy 9 Staple Salad Dressings.

9 Staple Salad Dressings You Should Know How to Make

Easy Chia Jam with any fruit is a simple way to remove some sugar from your breakfast.

Image and Recipe via The Kitchn

Dump the jar with this delicious and simple Quick Marinara Sauce.

Quick Marinara Sauce

Sweet and Spicy Ketchup is a great way to dip without the guilt.

Image and Recipe via Food & Wine

Get your BBQ craving with this Copycat BBQ Sauce.

Copycat Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce {Made from Scratch}

Skip the sugar-filled cereal aisle with this Homemade Cereal.

Image and Recipe via Dashing Dish

Abandon your favorite flavored yogurt with this Coconut Yogurt Parfait with Berries.

Easiest Breakfast Ever: Coconut Yogurt Parfait with Berries

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Last week was Healthy Weight Week. If you’re already at a healthy weight, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key as you age.

Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of many health problems, including some cancers.

Many experts believe eating a healthy diet is the biggest part of the battle to lose weight.

It’s important to lose weight in a healthy way, not by starving yourself.

Even moderate exercise can have great health benefits. Getting active is the other half of weight loss.

Reduce your kids’ risk of heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and more with these tips.

Don’t feel like you can do it? These people are living proof that it’s possible.

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It’s National Soup Month, so we had healthy versions of your favorites all week.

Try this Spicy Vegan Black Bean Soup for Meatless Monday.

Image and Recipe via The Glowing Fridge

Whip up Chicken Zoodle Soup that’s perfect when you’re under the weather.

Chicken Zoodle Soup

If rich soups are your favorite, try this lighter Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup.

Image and Recipe via Skinnytaste

Make the childhood classic Tomato Basil Soup fresh at home.

The BEST Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Make Slow Cooker Kale and Turkey Meatball Soup for your comfort food cravings.

Image and Recipe via Foodiecrush

Craving takeout this winter? Try this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup instead.

Crockpot Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup (Video)

This Baked Potato Soup feels like a splurge, but it isn’t.

Image and Recipe via Skinnytaste

The post National Soup Month appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

It’s a new year, which means it’s time to re-evaluate and set new healthy goals. For me, that always means trying to refocus on self-care.

As those of you following along know, I always have a hard time prioritizing the little things. So far, I have 3 big self-care goals that help with that for 2017.

Get Organized for Self-Care

Planning in Writing

I always have a planner for scheduling our company’s social media because I like to have it in writing. But this year, I took it a step further and bought myself a Passion Planner.

If you haven’t heard of Passion Planner, it combines a lot of things, like keeping a bullet journal, setting goals, imagining your future, and reminders to take care of yourself. Here’s a peek at what that looks like:

It’s built to help you track time, workload, and to-do tasks for your personal life and goals, and it even makes you find the good in your week.

Finding Time

In an effort to fight off my workaholic tendencies, I’ve been thinking a lot about time and time management. There’s one TED talk in particular that has had me thinking for weeks:

This idea that there is enough time for the things that matter to you, even if you live an extremely busy life, feels so wonderful. Not only do I have no doubt that she’s right, it’s also an idea to live your life by.

For me, I’m adding a third-column to-do list to my Passion Planner, which is the self-care to-do list Laura recommends in that video. Too frequently things like my chipped toenail polish are such a low priority that I never make time for them (and I can only imagine this just gets worse as you have kids).

By putting them on my list, I give myself permission to make those little things a priority, to make time for them, even when they seem selfish or stupid. I can make time for reading a book, checking my personal email, playing with my dogs, anything. This is how I plan to make self-care a priority.

Soon, I will use the pages at the end of each month to evaluate how the first month of this is going, how my goals went, what was good and bad this month, and more.

Meal Planning and Tracking

I’ve been trying to make healthy meal plans and grocery shop in advance each week, which again, requires I make time for it.

This great video series of bento box lunches from Mind Over Munch, one per day in January,  has really been helping me to get inspired with each day’s meals. (She also has a digital cookbook of these if you need more than 30 days of inspiration!)

How I Meal Plan

To meal plan, I’ve been using a lot of tools to make it happen, which makes it a lot more fun for someone like me who loves checking things off.

First, I have a lovely Wonder Woman list that I write down meals for the week on, organized by breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I try to choose at least one recipe for a nice big breakfast on the weekends, at least one recipe for a few lunches (something I can make multiple times or a big batch of something, like soup), and then 5 or 6 dinner ideas that I’ll make over a week and a half or so (taking leftover days off from cooking). And finally, at least 1 dessert because I have a huge sweet tooth. I label where each recipe is coming from and use it as a weekly menu, marking off things I make as I go along.

From there, I make a grocery list on the lovely Wunderlist, which is my favorite because it syncs across devices, but there are lots of other grocery shopping apps you can try.

And I use that whiteboard beside my Wonder Woman list to keep track of all the meal prep I need to do, like boiling eggs, making homemade salad dressing or sauces ahead of time, or prepping veggies and snacks for the week.

Then, I keep a calendar whiteboard on my freezer with dinners scheduled out. It helps me plan which days I’m eating leftovers, which ones I need something easy, or when I’m going out.

I also keep a more thorough list in my planner of what I eat for each major meal.

I’ve also just been trying to find little things that make my life easier in the kitchen, like my new knife block, which swivels to hold a cookbook or tablet while I’m cooking:

Tech and Digital Organization

Finally, on the organization front, I’m trying to clean up from a digital standpoint. This means a lot of things. I got a wireless speaker for Christmas. Syncing it to my cell phone lets me play music wherever I am in the house without needing a stereo or getting my computer close to water, like while I’m cooking or showering.

I’ve also been trying to clean up my digital presence, like organizing my iTunes, consolidating multiple Netflix and Hulu profiles I’ve had on different accounts, organizing all my bills online, backing up files like my writing on Google Docs, keeping track of my different passwords and profiles, and more.

I’ve also been taking the time to use digital solutions to solve some of life’s inconveniences, from the Tile on my keys to organizing all of my loyalty cards and memberships with Key Ring and  tossing all of those business cards without guilt by backing them up in CamCard.

It’s amazing how satisfying throwing away all that clutter can be.

(Looking for more ways to clean out your wallet?  This Real Simple article can help! It even has handy suggestions for using the leftovers off all your gift cards!)

Reading Challenge as Self-Care

There are all kinds of reading challenges all over the internet, practically one for every interest you could have. Popsugar’s yearly challenge is always a good general challenge, but looking at it, I just kept thinking about all the books I already know I want to read.

So instead, I’m making my own reading challenge. I used a Christmas Amazon gift card to buy a big stack of books that have been on my list for a while and combined them with a handful I’m in the middle of or have been hoarding,

(Why yes, that is a dog toy “hidden” on top of my books…)

On my self-care list, I’m forcing myself to dedicate at least 15 minutes a day to reading a book. Not the news, not my phone, a physical book.

And once I’ve forced myself to sit still and focus for those 15 minutes, I inevitably find time for at least 15 more.

Healthy Eating Self-Care

In keeping with all that self-care and meal planning, I have to follow through with making those healthy meals too.

For Christmas, I also got 3 cookbooks, which are keeping me going. Both of Skinnytaste’s cookbooks and The Dude Diet cookbook.

Skinnytaste

Skinnytaste’s cookbooks have a variety of recipes to make up for my comfort food favorites, from chicken enchiladas, chicken parm, and baked potato soup to staples like homemade marinara, which I’m trying to avoid buying at the store.

Chicken enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce and lime cilantro rice.

Teriyaki pork chops, with homemade teriyaki sauce, and spicy pineapple salsa.

Oven-fried chicken, which tastes a lot like Shake ‘n Bake, with cheesy cauliflower mash.

Baked potato soup, which is filled with hidden cauliflower.

The Dude Diet

And, you may not know it from looking at me,  but nachos, bar nachos especially, and chili cheese fries are my top 2 favorite foods. (Closely followed by all things sweet, mostly candy, but that’s beside the point.) So The Dude Diet is perfect for me.

It has all kinds of healthier takes on hearty classics, even going so far as to have Taco Bell copycat tacos. (Be still my beating heart!)

So far, from simple Pad Thai, where the weirdest ingredient I needed was Sriracha, to truly bar-worthy BBQ chicken nachos, this cookbook has yet to disappoint.

I substituted chicken for shrimp in The Dude Diet shrimp Pad Thai recipe.

Drool-worthy spicy, baked BBQ chicken nachos.

Using these cookbooks, I’ve been slowly tasting my way through their wonderfulness, and it’s making a difference! Not only can I see it, but I can feel it. And the best part is I’m not sacrificing anything. These recipes are delicious and doable.

Build your own group of recipes that you trust and love, or start exploring healthy cookbooks yourself. Enjoying what you’re eating is the only way you’ll be able to make a healthy lifestyle feel achievable.

Do It Yourself

Not sure how to get started setting your own goals? Our wellness tool, Rally, can help you set food, exercise, organization, and even reading goals.

Follow us on Pinterest for more healthy recipes, or find us on Instagram to see my progress and what I’m cooking up.

And join me in setting your own healthy goals for 2017. Let’s make this our healthiest year yet!

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The post My Healthy Journey: Putting Self-Care First appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

It’s National Bake for Family Fun Month, so we have some healthy family favorites to help you get in the kitchen with your kids.

First up are Clean Triple Chocolate Scones that the whole family will love.

Image and Recipe via Amy’s Healthy Baking

Satisfy your sweet tooth with this Healthy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Image and Recipe via Running with Spoons

Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect after-school snack and activity.

Image and Recipe via Amy’s Healthy Baking

Make breakfast ahead of time with Healthy Raspberry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Image and Recipe via Baker by Nature

These Clean “Elvis” Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes will be a hit with your kids.

Image and Recipe via Amy’s Healthy Baking

Make everyone happy with these Best Healthier Brownies in their lunchboxes.

Video and Recipe via Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Get baking on the weekends with these One-Bowl Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins.

Image and Recipe via Running with Spoons

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It’s Dump Your Significant Jerk Week, so it’s the perfect time to think about healthy relationships, especially with your kids.

Healthy relationships have boundaries that you set together. You can have your own hobbies, interests, social media accounts, and privacy in a relationship.

You should feel comfortable speaking up and communicating in a healthy relationship.

Compromise is important. In healthy relationships, couples work together to solve arguments in fair ways.

Relationships should be based on respect, not power and control. Make sure you know the warning signs of abuse, most of which aren’t physical.

If you’re worried your relationship is abusive, connect with your support systems. Isolation is often a part of abuse, so get support and feedback.

People can only change if they want to, so if your relationship is bad, you can’t fix it alone. Make sure your needs are being met too.

If you feel unsafe in your relationship, it’s not healthy, and you should think about breaking up.

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It’s National Children’s Dental Health Month, so we have some recipes to try to work into your kids’ diets that are good for their teeth.

Cheese has been found to raise the PH in your mouth, which lowers risk of tooth decay.

For your adventurous eaters, try this healthy Cheesy Turkey Stuffed Peppers.

Image and Recipe via Cookie Named Desire

Yogurt’s probiotics are good for your gums. Try these 7 Healthy Fro-Yo Recipes.

Image and Recipes via Greatist

Leafy greens are high in calcium and vitamins for your teeth. Sneak them in with 20 Healthy Green Smoothie Recipes.

Image and Recipe via Yummy Healthy Easy

Apples help you produce saliva that rinses out your mouth and is good for your gums.

Try Apple Pie in a Jar for a fun new way to get your kids to eat their apple a day.

Image and Recipe via Vie de la Vegan

Carrots can help lower your risk of cavities and are a great source of fiber and vitamin A.

If your kids love pasta, this Raw Carrot Pasta with Peanut Sauce is a great way to get their veggies.

Image and Recipe via Betsy Life

Celery has great vitamins that are good for gums, and it acts like a toothbrush scraping out food and bacteria.

The apples in this Celery Root and Apple Salad can help convince your kids to get their veggies in.

Image and Recipe via Gourmande in the Kitchen

Almonds are a great source of calcium and protein while being low in sugar.

These Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters taste like candy and are good for your teeth.

Image and Recipe via Sally’s Baking Addiction

The post Foods for Children’s Dental Health appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

It’s National Hot Breakfast Month! Fight the winter blues with these meals to warm your soul.

First up are Frozen Healthy Breakfast Burritos, perfect for busy Monday mornings.

Image and Recipe via Tone and Tighten

Make Brown Rice Porridge with Figs and Blueberries for a hearty start to the day.

Image and Recipe via Kitchen Sanctuary

Do hot breakfast right with these Southwest Baked Eggs in Sweet Potato Nests.

Image and Recipe via Recipe Runner

Go gluten-free for your family with Banana Coconut Flour Waffles.

Image and Recipe via PALEOHACKS

Whip up Egg Breakfast Pitas with Feta and Spinach and skip the morning drive-thru trip.

Image and Recipe via Alissa Rumsey

Do brunch for the whole family with Banana, Quinoa, Oats ‘n More Breakfast Bake.

Image and Recipe via The Fit Fork

Whip up this Veggie-Loaded Breakfast Casserole for a guilt-free weekend breakfast.

Image and Recipe via Little Spice Jar

The post National Hot Breakfast Month appeared first on Health Alliance Blog - Helping You Be Your Best.

Chewing tobacco can be just as dangerous for your health as other forms of tobacco. It’s time to quit for Through with the Chew Week.

Chewing tobacco is tied to many mouth problems, including mouth, tongue, cheek, and gum cancer, and can also cause cancer in the esophagus and pancreas.

Chew can cause leukoplakia, or gray-white patches in the mouth that can become cancer.

Chewing tobacco also stains your teeth, causes bad breath, and destroys your gum tissue.

If you regularly use smokeless tobacco, you’re more likely to have gum disease, cavities, tooth decay, and expensive dental issues.

All forms of tobacco, including the smokeless kind, increase your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

When you chew tobacco, you also raise your risk of heart attack, stroke, and serious pregnancy complications.

Smokeless tobacco can also lead to nicotine poisoning and death in kids who mistake it for candy.

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It’s National Snack Food Month, and we want to help you snack smart and ditch processed snacks with healthy snack food recipes.

First up, skip the snack aisle and make Clean and Fudgy Dark Chocolate Frosted Brownies.

Image and Recipe via Amy’s Healthy Baking

If you’re a dipper, you have options with these 29 Healthy Hummus Recipes.

Image and Recipe via Dr. Axe

Make Healthy Chocolate Pudding Pops that your kids will love after school.

Image and Recipe via Make the Best of Everything

Skip the grocery store granola bars with these homemade Strawberry Oat Bars.

Image and Recipe via My Fussy Eater

Ditch the store-bought bags for this Healthy Trail Mix that’s easy and tasty.

Image and Recipe via Mom Spotted

You’ll feel like you’re eating candy with Chocolate Banana Frozen Yogurt Bark.

Image and Recipe via My Fussy Eater

Skip cookies and eat No-Bake Loaded Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites on the go.

Image and Recipe via Cotter Crunch

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March is National Kidney Disease Awareness Month, and it’s time to get the facts.

You could be at risk for kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of it.

Early stages of the disease have no signs or symptoms, so talk to your doctor about testing if you’re at risk.

A healthy diet and lifestyle is important to protect your kidneys, especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure.

You might be asking, how can I keep my kidneys healthy? Your lifestyle choices and doctor can help.

Who can you turn to if you’re diagnosed with kidney disease? Make sense of the types of providers who can help.

If you have this disease, it’s important to know which medicines you can take without hurting your kidneys.

This disease can also lead to kidney failure, which is extremely serious. Protect yourself before then.

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It’s National Nutrition Month and a great time to focus on making healthy, fruit- and veggie-filled meals. Get started with nutrition month recipes and how-to videos.

Whip up Tropical Coconut Oatmeal for a healthy dose of pineapple.

Image and Recipe via Emilie Eats

Chicken Corn Chowder makes the most of your kids’ favorite veggie.

Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe

Chili Lime Mango Marinated Chicken Bowls are a balance of sweet and spicy.

Gluten Free Chili Lime Mango Marinated Chicken Bowls {How to Cook with Wine}

One-Pan Garlic Roasted Salmon with Brussels Sprouts is a simple, elegant dinner.

One Sheet Pan Garlic Roasted Salmon with Brussels Sprouts

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Chicken Sausage lightens up your favorite.

The Dude Diet: Mac and Cheese Edition

This easy Ginger Carrot Radish Salad is a perfect side for spring meals.

ginger carrot radish salad

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