Try as we might to opt out of “another,” when it comes to seconds (or even firsts), determining correct food portions can often elude us. With busy on-the-go lifestyles, measuring cups and food scales are not easily accessible. Not to worry. Several everyday objects can aid in proper meal measurements.

Let’s play ball! When it comes to mixed veggies it’s best to keep serving sizes in the ballpark of around a ½ cup — comparable to the size of a baseball. When seeking a single serving of fruit, trade the baseball for a tennis ball. For example, look for an apple or orange the size of a tennis ball rather than volleyball.

Lucky hand. A single serving of chicken, beef or pork is generally around 3 oz, or the size of a deck of cards.

Chuck a puck. To keep your pasta portions in check, stick to a ½-cup single serving of cooked pasta relative to the size of a hockey puck. In addition, a puck can be a useful comparison for measuring 1/3 cup of uncooked brown rice.

Tech check. To keep harmony in your breakfast diet, make sure pancakes don’t expand beyond the size of a CD. Craving a little starch? Think about your computer mouse when picking the proper potato.

Roll the dice. Prevent yourself from overindulging on cheese by serving yourself six pieces of die-sized cubes, equal to about 1 oz. Die are also helpful in delving out appropriate condiment servings. For example, one fat serving of mayonnaise is equal to about two dice.

That’s why the Partnership for a Healthier America, which works with the private sector to end the childhood obesity crisis, is trying to end the epidemic with a challenge. The organization has called on the country to come up with ideas to help put our children on a healthy path.

The PHA recently announced its three finalists for the End Childhood Obesity Innovation Challenge, supported by Sanofi. The event will take place during the PHA’s 2013 Building a Healthier Future Summit March 6 to 8 in Washington, D.C.

The three finalists, which were determined by the public through an online vote, are:

• Aurri Health Network, Jason Dreyzehner (Abingdon, Va.): an online and community-based network that incentivizes young people to live healthier by making primary prevention fun and rewarding;
• Define Bottle, Carter Kostler (Virginia Beach, Va.): a product that offers a sustainable, tasty alternative to sugary drinks; and
• JiveHealth, Dennis Ai (Evanston, Ill.): a video game that teaches kids about healthy eating, empowering and encouraging them to adopt healthy behaviors.

“From the well-thought-out ideas submitted by budding entrepreneurs to the more than 20,000 votes cast by the public, the End Childhood Obesity Innovation Challenge has shown that everyone can have a role to play in battling childhood obesity,” said Lawrence Soler, president and CEO of PHA. “Everyday citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds are clearly as passionate about helping end childhood obesity as the experts are, and PHA is privileged to work with both.”

In March, the three finalists will fly to Washington, D.C., where they will present their idea to a panel of judges and 1,000-plus business, policy and health leaders. The winner will receive $10,000 to make their idea a reality.

Founded by Steve Reynolds, the head pastor at Capital Baptist Church in Annandale, Va., Bod4God transforms the traditional concept of worshiping God —  e.g., sitting and kneeling — into a competitive game that encourages followers to fight obesity with a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Reynolds says the premise of Bod4God is to uphold the First Commandment — “You shall have no other gods before me” — and explains to MSN that some Christians who struggle with their weight may be “unwittingly valuing food over their faith.”

Participants engage in a 12-week competition in which they’re assigned to teams and attend meetings once a week. According to the website, the program has helped Reynolds’ congregation lose more than 12,000 pounds since 2007, and Reynolds himself dropped 120 pounds. Bod4God turned “DIET” into an acronym in order to promote its message:

• D = Dedication: Honoring god with your body
• I = Inspiration: Motivating yourself for change
• E = Eat and Exercise: Managing your habits
• T = Team: Building your circle of support

Religious weight-loss plans, when involving healthy diets, can be effective and beneficial. Dieters already have a built-in support system and could use their desire to improve their spirituality as extra motivation to achieve the results they want. However, there is currently no solid research suggesting that religiously based weight-loss programs are more effective than secular ones.

That said, Bod4God isn’t the only deity diet out there. Here are four others that use a higher power to drive lifestyle changes — but not always healthy ones.

THE HALLELUJAH DIET
If you’re one of those people who believes Noah actually did build an ark and Jonah actually did survive for days inside a live whale, there’s a diet for you that takes the Bible just as literally. The Hallelujah Diet diet is basically a stricter version of veganism, with heavy supplementation, crazy amounts of juicing and recommended exercise. But the founder prefers to describe it as “God’s way to optimal health.”

Premise: The Hallelujah Diet extracts its guidelines from Genesis 1:29: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].” Thus, the diet relies on fruits and vegetables, and also limits consumption of saturated fat and hydrogenated oils while encouraging more exercise and alleviating stress , plus heavy supplementation. The 12-lesson course “Biblical Nutrition 101″ can be downloaded online for free, and followers of the diet can access recipes on the website. The supplements, which are sold on the website for significantly more than their cost at drug stores, make this a profitable business for the diet’s founders.

History: Developed by Rev. George Malkmus and his wife, Rhonda, the Hallelujah Diet is promoted by Malkmus’ company, Hallelujah Acres. Thirty-two members of a church reportedly completed the course and followed the diet, which resulted in a total weight loss of more than 700 pounds.

Allowed foods: Raw, uncooked and unprocessed plant-based food comprises 85% of the diet, and cooked, plant-based food is allowed for dinner to make up the last 15%. Heavy supplementation is also part of the deal, though we were unfortunately unable to find the Genesis reference supporting God’s approval of supplements.

Restricted foods: Dairy, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages or soft drinks, drinks with artificial or natural sugar, sports drinks, juices containing preservatives, refined salt, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, meat, eggs, chocolate, drugs (including over-the-counter and prescribed drugs)

Other aspects of the diet: Exercise, strength training and stretching 30 minutes a day; proper cleansing; adequate rest; and sunshine exposure

Criticisms: Where do we start? The website is packed with unsubstantiated claims. Exhibit A: “What most people do not realize is that almost every physical problem they experience, other than accidents, has a diet-related cause.” This, combined with the restriction on prescription drugs (albeit with a note to discuss with your healthcare provider), is a recipe for disaster. Imagine if people with genetic disorders and diseases believed everything could be prevented or cured with a diet change.

Secondly, the Hallelujah Diet is so strict that it could lead to deficiencies. Stephen Barrett, MD, founder of Quackwatch, stated: “Although low-fat, high-fiber diets can be healthful, the Hallelujah Diet is unbalanced and can lead to serious deficiencies [e.g., protein]. The overall program is expensive because the recommended supplements cost over $2,000 a year.  Rev. Malkmus’ sales pitch includes beliefs that are historically and nutritionally senseless, as well as health claims for which he lacks appropriate substantiation. Using his diet instead of appropriate medical care is very foolish.”

In case you’re wondering what Barrett meant by “historically and nutritionally senseless” beliefs, please note that the main reason Malkmus excluded meat and cooked food from the diet is because he believed Genesis indicates that when these foods were added to humankind’s diet, “the lifespan of man dropped from an average of 912 years on God’s original diet to 100 years.” He’s currently 79 years old, so if anyone from the year 2923 is reading this, he better still be alive.

WWHWD — What would HellaWella do? Experts claim that this diet could lead to deficiencies of crucial vitamins and minerals. If you really want to “treat your body like a temple,” deficiencies aren’t the way to go. Plus, the Jesus who emphasized a minimalist lifestyle probably wouldn’t have spent $2,000+ a year on supplements.

THE BIBLE DIET (aka the Maker’s Diet)
The Bible Diet is what you want if you interpret the Bible literally but thought the Hallelujah Diet sounds like it should have been named the Hell Diet.

Premise: The Bible Diet is based on a handful of biblical references, particularly the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which state that God considers certain foods “unclean.” 

History: Created by motivational speaker Jordan Rubin, the Bible Diet book touts that the program is a “40-day health experience that will change your life forever.” (You’ve got to give him credit for detail, he even used the Bible’s “40-day” theme.) Rubin claims the diet was responsible for his recovery from Crohn’s disease as a teenager, although there is no scientific evidence to back this up.

Allowed foods: Organic veggies, fruits and legumes, fish with scales (e.g., salmon and trout), cows, goat, lamb, plus an ungodly amount of supplements that Rubin sells through his website. Additionally, Rubin believes in eating a variety of unprocessed, whole foods , or at the very least, foods that have been less processed than others (e.g., brown rice instead of white).

Restricted foods: Processed foods, or those produced with hormones, pesticides or fertilizers; smooth fish (e.g., catfish and eels); crustaceans with hard shells (e.g., lobsters, crabs); pork; bacon; ham; sausage

Other aspects of diet: Prayers of thanksgiving, healing and petition are said at the beginning and end of each day.

Criticisms: Rubin has a degree in naturopathic medicine from the Peoples University of the Americas and a PhD in nutrition from the Academy of Natural Therapies. Since the former is not accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education or licensed by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners and the latter is not accredited by the American Dietetic Association or other mainstream nutrition organizations, Rubin’s credentials are often criticized.

There currently is no scientific research to back up the diet’s claims, and the emphasis on organic food is not directly supported by scientific evidence, according to the Gale Encyclopedia of Diets. And while Rubin is clearly making an effort to follow God’s law, he’s committed a few sins in the eyes of the Food and Drug Administration, which ordered his company, Garden of Life, to stop making unsubstantiated claims about eight of its products and supplements in 2004.

WWHWD? With the exception of the excessive supplementation, which seems to have been included in the diet simply as a way to profit from it, this diet could be worse. It at least includes protein and a variety of foods from every major food group, but the strict emphasis on natural foods, plus the dependence on supplements, will inevitably result in the thinning of your wallet in addition to your waistline. On the bright side, the religious aspect could provide some extra motivation for spiritual people.

THE DANIEL FAST
The Daniel fast is exactly what it sounds like — a fast based on the book of Daniel. While a fast isn’t exactly a diet, we’ve added it to the list because the Daniel Fast Research website suggested it could be an “ideal diet for many individuals seeking enhanced health and function via food intake” if followed on a regular basis (“possibly with a few modifications to allow for additional food choices, such as lean meat and dairy products”).

Premise: The Daniel fast lasts 21 days and is based on Daniel 10:2-3: “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.” Sounds fun, right? Obviously, the fact that it’s a huge challenge is what makes it a spiritual sacrifice, though maintaining such a strict diet long-term would just make all of us chocolate- and wine-loving mortals look bad –and probably impair your health (not to mention your sanity). The purpose of the fast, according to the website: “to consecrate (set aside) a specific period of time to draw closer to God to hear from Him. A powerful side benefit of the Daniel Fast is the improvement in health that most people experience.”

History: Unknown

Allowed foods: It’s a short list: vegetables, fruits and water.

Restricted foods: Anything that tastes even moderately delicious: All meat and animal products, all dairy, all sweeteners, all leavened bread, all refined and processed food products, all deep-fried foods, all solid fats (e.g., shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat), alcohol and any beverages other than water

Criticisms: We couldn’t find any reviews of this diet plan online, but it definitely lacks sufficient nutritional requirements for a long-term diet.

WWHWD? We recommend that if you follow the fast, you only follow it for three weeks. Depending on your religious preferences, it could benefit your relationship with God, but we wouldn’t look to it as a weight-loss plan (though with the severe limitation on calories, you will inevitably lose weight, just not the healthy way).

WEIGH DOWN WORKSHOP
As long as you pray and are skilled in noticing when you’re hungry, there’s no need to count calories or look at Nutrition Facts labels anymore — at least according to the Weigh Down Workshop. The program offers a 12-week Bible study in 35,000 churches around the world and sells online video classes on its website.

Premise: Weigh Down believes that many people mistakenly try to fill a spiritual void with food when really the issue lies in their faith. The diet focuses on avoiding the second deadly sin, gluttony, and supports its diet plan with parts of Proverbs, Ezekiel and Ruth. The website explains that “God gave us natural body signals,” and all we have to do is pay attention to them to know when to stop eating.

The solution, according to Weigh Down, is to only eat when you hear your stomach growl, and then to step away from the food and replace your love of food with your love of God. You can eat whatever you want —  actually, the plan encourages you to eat your favorite foods first and leave the least favorite foods on your plate.

History: Tennessee-based Weigh Down was founded by Gwen Shamblin, a dietitian and Christian fundamentalist, in the 1980s. According to the website, more than a million people in 70 countries have signed up for the workshop.

Allowed foods: Daniel would be appalled: You can eat whatever you want. The website encourages dieters to “trust instincts and make good choices,” as well as “seek divine intervention.” Talk about an easy diet to follow religiously!

Restricted foods: None

Other aspects of the diet: Well, what’s an eat-anything diet without a no-exercising-necessary policy? Courtesy of the website: “In Weigh Down, the only exercise God requires is surrendering your will to His perfect system of hunger and fullness.”

Criticisms: There are currently no research studies indicating that this is an effective weight-loss approach. And waiting for your stomach to growl isn’t always the most reliable way of knowing when you should eat. WebMD quoted Toby Smithson, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, pointing this out: “Growling in your stomach is a normal part of digestion and may not always suggest an empty stomach. It could be a result of swallowing air,” Smithson says. “Furthermore, when you let yourself get so hungry, your blood sugar can get too low and starvation is likely to trigger a binge or overeating.”

WWHWD? If it sounds too good to by true, it is. In addition to the potential adverse consequences of waiting too long to eat, a diet that puts more emphasis on your “favorite foods” than your “least favorite” can’t be a healthy way to lose weight — unless you have the luckiest taste buds in the world and Brussels sprouts and carrots taste like chocolate and french fries to you.

1. Lose weight.

Perhaps the most common New Year’s resolution, losing weight is probably also the most infrequently met. Why? It’s easy to feel extremely motivated right after you’ve overindulged during the holidays and feel guilty for eating all of those cookies that seem to now live in your thighs. This is when people often make the mistake of setting impossible goals for themselves for next year. Here’s what you can do to stick to your plan:

Set a REALISTIC weight-loss goal and deadline for yourself.

A safe long-term goal is to shed 1 to 2 lbs a week, though it may come off more quickly in the beginning. Based on that and the amount you want to lose, give yourself a deadline. For example, if you want to lose 30 lbs and you start your weight-loss plan Jan. 1, May 1 is a reasonable deadline. Keep in mind that this is only an estimate, and the amount you lose weekly will depend on your current weight and the severity of the change in your diet and lifestyle.

Don’t keep snacks in your fridge.

You have no idea how much this one helps! If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. If you’re serious about losing this weight, eliminating the junk food in your kitchen is imperative.

Add exercise to your routine.

If you’re not a very active person, you don’t need to morph from couch potato to gym-obsessed. Most of your weight loss is going to come from reduced calorie intake. Exercising three or four times a week — whether this is jogging, working out at the gym or taking an aerobics or dance class — will help speed up your metabolism, which means your body will burn calories more quickly. Terrified of a strenuous workout? Try taking a leisurely walk every day — a mile will suffice.

Choose a day to religiously weigh yourself every week.

This way, you have a weekly reminder of your current weight and its distance from your goal. It’s easy to procrastinate and push challenges to the back of your head so you don’t have to confront them. This will help you stay focused.

Identify your motivation.

Everyone always says you need to lose weight for the “right reasons.” Here’s what I think: Do you want to lose weight, yes or no? If the answer is yes, that you personally are unhappy with your weight and want to change it — not simply because someone else wants you to — then do it. I don’t care if the reason is that you want to look good in your wedding dress next year, or you want to wear a hot bikini on your tropical vacation next summer, or even because you hope losing weight will attract a certain someone. Any reasons you can find to motivate yourself are good ones, as long as you’re losing a healthy amount of weight a healthy way and you believe losing it will make you happier with yourself.

Find a way to remind yourself of that motivation.

As cliché as it is, putting photos on your refrigerator of how you want to look can help. Or make a list of why you want to lose the weight and post that on your refrigerator. Losing weight is tough, and it takes a lot of will power. You’re going to want to eat things you shouldn’t and not go to the gym when you should. You’re going to try to rationalize making the wrong choices. Having a reminder of your motivation can help you avoid that rationalization.

Tell your friends.

This has two advantages: 1) It gives you more motivation to follow through with accomplishing your goal. 2) They’ll be aware that you’re making changes in your diet and lifestyle and will hopefully avoid tempting you. It’s always good to have a support system.

2. Drink more water.

This was my New Year’s resolution two years ago. I was drinking entirely too much diet soda and was constantly dehydrated. I made it my goal to follow the age-old advice: Drink eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day, which is the equivalent to almost 2 liters. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men drink about 3 liters of total beverages a day and women drink about 2.2 liters of total beverages a day. So the eight glasses of water wasn’t too far off.

Drinking more water during the day will help you stay hydrated, but it can also help you lose weight, if that’s another one of your New Year’s resolutions. With zero calories, drinking water makes you feel full without giving your body more calories to burn off. Feel like snacking? Try a glass of water instead. Here’s how to stick to your goal:

Buy a gargantuan water bottle.

I’m not sure if they make 2-liter bottles of water, but if so, buy one of those and refill it once a day. Your goal would be to drink the whole thing by the end of the day. I kept a 1.5-liter bottle and a 16.9-oz. bottle at work and told myself I had to drink both before I went home for the day.

Mix it up.

Not a big fan of water? Me either. Here’s a great trick: Buy Minute Maid’s natural, 5-calorie, lemonade- or raspberry-flavored on-the-go drink mixes. For every 16.9 ounces of water, mix in one pack. If you use this for all 2 liters of water you drink, you’ll only be consuming 20 calories.

3. Save money by eating more meals at home — while eating healthy.

I’m not going to lie: It can be challenging to eat healthy and conveniently while on a strict budget. One of the biggest issues I’ve encountered is that you can’t buy one-serving packages of lettuce, herbs and other produce, so I’m always unable to finish all of what I buy before it goes bad. Canned foods might seem like the solution, but a lot of them are packed with sodium. And after a long day at work, I don’t feel like spending an hour making dinner. Here are some tips:

Prep!

A tip I learned from Diet Coach Judy (see my review of her book of healthy-eating tips here) is to spend some time on Sunday chopping up some veggies — I use onions and mushrooms a lot when cooking — and store them in little baggies in the fridge so they’re ready for you to toss on a pan when you get home on weekdays. She even suggested cooking things like caramelized onions on Sunday and storing them to use during the week.

Buy frozen vegetables!

They last a long time, are inexpensive and easy to cook, and don’t contain the high amount of sodium contained in canned vegetables.

Seasonings!

A cheap and healthy way to spice up a meal is knowing how to utilize seasonings. Lemon pepper is one of my favorites, especially on broccoli. Red pepper flakes, rosemary and thyme are great for seasoning chicken breasts and other meat, which you can store in the freezer until you need them. And this isn’t a seasoning, but a little Parmesan goes a long way. For some extra flavor on chicken or veggies, try sprinkling on a little with the seasoning. The great thing about Parmesan is that it lasts a long time.

Sammiches!

Click here for our healthy sandwich creations that you can bring to work or make at home.

Tell us: What are your healthy New Year’s resolutions for 2012?

Add more fiber to your diet

Fiber aids digestion and can help you to feel fuller. A high-fiber diet may also help reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Women should eat at least 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day, while men should try for 30 to 38 grams a day. Foods containing the greatest amount of fiber include split peas, lentils, black beans, lima beans and baked beans (all cooked).

Replace simple carbohydrates

As opposed to regular white pasta, whole-grain pasta is filled with vitamin B and fiber. The same is true of quinoa, which also boasts high contents of protein, iron, magnesium and calcium.

Take your time

It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that your stomach is full. It is therefore important to slow down, chew and truly savor your food. If you’re in a time crunch or eating on the go, don’t overcompensate with a bigger portion. Once it all “hits bottom,” you’ll just end up feeling too full and lethargic.

We often scold ourselves, believing it will help restore our healthy habits. But is feeling guilty actually harming your health?

A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology reported that individuals who indulged without guilt were less likely to continue unhealthy eating habits. And if they had feelings of self-compassion, individuals had less stress and felt less restrained regarding eating habits. If you’re feeling guilty after your holiday indulgence, remind yourself that one day of food and family isn’t the end of the world. Shedding guilt could mean shedding pounds!

Try these tips for avoiding holiday guilt that could lead to more unhealthy eating:

1. If you normally track your food intake, give yourself a day off for family time — just eat until you’re full.
2. Savor your meal. It’s not every day you get to enjoy home-cooked dishes, so make each one count by eating slowly and appreciating it.
3. When you eat leftovers, remember it’s not Thanksgiving all over again; choose one or two things instead of recreating your feast-day plate.
4. Reinvent your leftovers — make turkey into a salad topper or combine it with veggies for a soup or stew. If you’re looking for ideas, try HellaWella’s top 11 healthy ways to eat your leftover turkey.

Curried Turkey Salad
Chow.com has a perfect way to brown-bag your leftover turkey: This curried turkey salad combines toasted coconut bits, sweet raisin, sweet apple and curried yogurt, sparing the fatty mayo so commonly used in chicken and turkey salads. Easy to make and even easier to throw in a Tupperware container to take to work.

Turkey Reuben
Here’s a simple yet tasty idea. Place the turkey, reduced-fat/reduced-sodium Swiss cheese and sauerkraut (drained and rinsed) between two slices of rye bread (or substitute multigrain or whole wheat bread), and use fat-free Thousand Island dressing as a spread.

Turkey Choke Sammich
If the Turkey Reuben isn’t your style (it’s not mine either), try our Turkey Choke sandwich with artichokes, sun-dried tomato and mozzarella, which you can find here.

Turkey & Sweet Potato Hummus Sandwich
If you’re not sweet-potatoed out from Thanksgiving, try making this ingenious sweet-potato hummus from WholeLiving.com. Spread it on some whole-wheat bread (we prefer toasted), and sandwich the turkey between the two slices. Mmmm.

Turkey Quesadilla
Quesadillas: the ideal dinner solution for one of those work nights when you barely have the energy to get your PJs on before passing out, much less slave over the stove for an hour. Combine the turkey with low-fat cheddar cheese, green onion and some canned jalapeno chilies on top of a tortilla, grill in a nonstick pan over the stove, cover with another tortilla and flip. … You know the drill.

Turkey Chili
Nothing says “goodbye, fall; hello, winter” like chili. Turkey chili is a fantastic low-fat option for anyone (who eats meat), especially if you’re trying to cut carbs and stock up on protein. SimplyRecipes.com has the perfect recipe if you’re looking for flavor without the fat and calories.

Turkey Divan
One of my fave dishes from childhood, turkey divan provides a yummy way to use up that leftover turkey and combine it with a veggie extremely high in nutritional benefits: broccoli. And you can make enough to brown-bag some and enjoy the rest for dinner during the week. Food.com has the classic Campbell’s recipe, but for a healthier version, use skim milk and low-fat cheese.

Turkey Tetrazzini
There’s nothing better than a healthy comfort food. The pasta provides the “comfort,” and the bell peppers, mushrooms and turkey add the nutritional value. The only adjustments I would make to Prevention magazine’s recipe are to use whole-wheat pasta (or even spinach pasta!) and skim milk instead of regular pasta and whole milk.

Turkey Cobb Salad
This one’s simple: Throw some turkey on top of Romaine lettuce with egg whites (instead of whole hard-boiled eggs — this way you’re skipping the high-calorie, high-cholesterol yolk), crumbled blue cheese, chopped tomatoes and avocado. In case you didn’t notice, we skipped the bacon. Avocado provides you with enough fat — the good kind! — so it’s better to leave out greasy, fatty bacon if you’re trying to keep your meal light. Add cucumber if you want the extra crunch that bacon would have offered. As for dressing, try this one, which you can make yourself, from Food Network.

Cranberry & Herb Turkey Burgers
Lean turkey burgers never quite match up to the yum level of beef burgers since they lack grease and fat. Eating Well thought up a delicious solution to the dryness so commonly associated with turkey burgers: top it with cranberries! It’s a nutritious way to add some moisture and flavor, and this recipe takes it up a notch with the addition of some whole-wheat couscous.

Next Day Turkey Soup
Thanksgiving unfortunately falls in the midst of — a…a… achoo! Excuse me — cold season. If you find yourself with the sniffles or are just craving a tasty way to warm up, try Food Network’s Michael Chiarello’s Next Day Turkey Soup. This recipe even puts the turkey carcass to use to flavor the broth.

According to the American Pistachio Growers, pistachios contain:

• More dietary fiber (3 grams) than 1/2 cup of cooked broccoli;
• Good fat: 7 grams of monounsaturated and 4 grams of polyunsaturated fats, which are considered heart healthy;
• Less than 2 grams of saturated fat;
• Phytosterols, which may decrease the risk of heart disease;
• As much potassium as half of a large banana;
• Vitamin B6;
• Copper;
• Thiamin;
• Phosphorous;
• Manganese;
• No cholesterol; and
• No trans fat.

If that doesn’t get you craving pistachios, click on the infographic below provided by the American Pistachio Growers. You’ll learn how this powerful green nut stacks up against other common snack choices.