Want a smarter snack to give to your little sugarplum? The California Dried Plum website has plenty of healthy eating recipes to make everything from appetizers and salads. Dried plums are nutrient-dense; they provide important vitamins and minerals for their calories. Dried plums also contribute to the overall intake of dietary fiber and phenolic compounds, which function as antioxidants. For today's recipe, dried plums and rolled oats are layered in these nutrition-packed bars, then baked to crunchy golden goodness for healthy snacking.

Makes 16 servings

1 1/2 cups (about 9 ounces) coarsely chopped dried plums
1/3 cup apricot jam
No-stick cooking spray
2 cups rolled oats (old fashioned or quick, uncooked)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
Powdered sugar (optional)

In medium bowl, combine dried plums and apricot jam; set aside. Lightly spray 8-inch square baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and soda; mix well. Lightly beat together egg and butter; add to oats mixture, mixing until crumbly. Press 2 cups of mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Spread dried plum mixture over oats; sprinkle remaining oat mixture over top. Bake at 350°F oven 20 to 22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired; cut into 16 bars.

For more healthy eating recipes, check out the other delicious recipes listed on this blog or visit Green Mountain Healthy Living Recipe Favorites.

Tags: plum bars, dried plum recipe, healthy recipe, healthy snack

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A new study involving more than 300,000 people finds that being overweight independently increases a person's risk of coronary disease.

Reuters - Higher U.S. gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.

What are you looking for -- a healthy weight loss program to lose the weight that's driven you nuts for too long? Or do you seek a type 2 diabetes program because your doctor has told you to lose weight to better manage your diabetes? Or do you have PCOS and want to lose weight to help that problem? Clearly, there are a myriad of reasons people seek a weight loss program. But how often do we think about starting the process by just working on our self esteem? We've seen over and over again that thinking positively about ourselves is critical to making the kind of permanent changes that will lead to healthy lives, whether we ever reach the (often unrealistic) weight loss goals we have in our minds.

Here's my contribution to building our self esteem for the day. Have you seen the youtube video Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)? If you haven't, check it out. Talk about feel good!

Have a great and positive day!

Tags: diabetes education program , healthy weight loss program , PCOS , healthy weight loss

AFP - Overweight people should be paid to attend weight-loss programmes to reduce the impact the growing obesity epidemic is having on the healthcare system, a group of Australian doctors said Wednesday.

Welcome to the Hoodia Buying Guide. We're dedicated to helping you sift through the useless and often misleading information that exists about Hoodia Gordonii. Enjoy!

Reuters - Higher U.S. gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.

Reuters - Corrects spelling of researchers name, Courtemanche, in paragraphs 3, 6 and 8.

Today’s health news is about Vitamin D.  A new study finds that Vitamin D can reduce the risk of death. That’s a pretty powerful statement. So what does it mean exactly?

In the September 10th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, an analysis of 18 previously published studies on the vitamin were done.  The previous studies were intended to see if vitamin D worked against conditions such as bone fractures, bone mineral density, congestive heart failure. Not to determine life expectancy. But, interestingly, all the studies ended up tracking the folks who participated in the study’s death data. As a result, researchers discovered that people who took daily vitamin D supplements were 7% less likely to die during the study — from any cause — than people who didn't.

Does that mean you should rush out to your local pharmacy and pick up a giant supersized bottle of Vitamin D? No. You can actually take too much vitamin D and it's effects can be harmful - and that’s not a good thing. Just to be clear, most vitamin D deficiencies are found in women over 50 (what else is new, right?). So who needs it and how do we get it?

It's fairly common knowledge that we get most of our D from sunlight, but, we also know sitting in the sun for very long isn’t good for us either. So what's a gal to do? Especially those of us 50 or over and maybe a little deficient in our D and wanting to live a little longer?

Well, vitamin D, unlike most vitamins isn't found easily in food and often is obtained through fortified foods, such as cereals, bread, breakfast bars, etc. foods may be fortified with 10% to 15% of the recommended daily value for vitamin D. It is important to read the nutrition facts panel of the food label to determine whether a food provides vitamin D.

Food sources for vitamin D are:

• Cod Liver Oil, 1 Tbs: 1,360 IU
• Salmon, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 360 IU
• Mackerel, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 345 IU
• Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 3 1/2 oz: 270 IU
• Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D fortified, 1 c: 98 IU
• Margarine, fortified, 1 Tbs: 60 IU
• Pudding, 1/2 c prepared from mix and made with vitamin D fortified milk: 50 IU
• Dry cereal, Vitamin D fortified w/10% of the recommended daily value, 3/4 c: 40-50 IU (other cereals may be fortified with more or less vitamin D)
• Liver, beef, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 30 IU
• Egg, 1 whole (vitamin D is present in the yolk): 25 IU

Source: Information provided by the National Institute of Health.

Tags: life expectancy , fortifided foods , healthy lifestyles , vitamin D .

AP - More than a half-million overweight trucks are allowed onto the nation's roads and bridges — an increasingly routine practice that some officials say is putting dangerous wear and tear on an already groaning infrastructure.