When it comes to preparing Latin dishes, white rice has been a traditional side staple. But according to a 2012 Harvard School of Public Health study, eating too much arroz significantly increases your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes. Researchers discovered, for example, that a daily large bowl of white rice, or a serving of 5.5 ounces, increased the onset of the disease by 10 percent.

“White rice has a high glycemic index,” explains Iris Mercado EdD, CDN, a nutrition expert and assistant professor at Hostos Community College in New York City. And when your body breaks down the grain, “it converts the starch to glucose (sugar) really fast and affects blood glucose level.” To make matters worse, white rice is tasteless and depends on salt and fat before it acquires flavor. That’s why people tend to eat big portions of the grain before feeling full.

For healthier eating, Mercado recommends switching to whole brown rice, which is not refined. When it comes to white rice vs. brown rice, brown is the clear winner. “The fiber in brown rice delays the digestion and conversion of the starch into sugar,” she says. Adds Mercado, “Latinos tend to eat their rice with beans,” which are high in soluble fiber and help control blood cholesterol. “Beans make you feel full faster,” she explains, so remember “to serve more beans than brown rice.” 

Let’s face it. We want to go full-force when it comes to losing weight. But often factors beyond our control get in the way of shedding the pounds or keeping them off for good. We need an easy weight loss plan, but with the best weight loss results. Losing weight doesn’t just depend on how much ejercicio and cutting back you do; how you do it is just as important. Las Fabulosas culled easy-to-implement tips from three experts on how to go about losing weight.

Porciones

1. “Eat small meals every 3 hours,” says Jenny Patrizia, author of Big Taste, Little Money: Healthy & Delicious Family Meals For Under $10. “We are meant to graze. It keeps our sugar levels at a balance and therefore controls our hunger.”

2. Serve your meals on salad plates. “It helps with portion control and caloric count,” adds Patrizia. “It also helps you stop when you feel full and keeps you from over eating.”

3. Aim for 80 to 90 grams of daily protein (pending you have no kidney problems). “Protein requires more energy to digest than carbohydrates,” says Lauren Minchen, RDN, CDN, explaining that we burn more calories by simply digesting the protein. She also suggests eating adequate protein, particularly when losing weight, to decrease the amount of lean muscle mass loss.

Ejercicio

1. For easy weight loss, build a body that loses for you. According to Minchen, adding weights, two to four times per week, to a thirty-minute ejercicio schedule, makes mujeres lean and toned. “Many women refuse to participate in weight training because they are afraid that they will bulk up,” she says. But, unlike men, they do not produce the testosterone levels, so they won’t become bulky. “One pound of muscle burns an extra 40-50 calories per day,” she says, adding that more calories burn at rest when you add lean muscle tissue. So choose ejercicio that helps your body help you!

Scheduling

1. One of the best weight loss tips is eating to lose weight. Start your day by eating desayuno within an hour of waking up. According to nutrition expert Manuel Villacorte, MS, RD, it is the most important meal that drives your entire day. Having a healthy and complete breakfast “determines how much you’re going to eat at 4:00 p.m.,” says the San Francisco-based author of Eating Free: The Carb-Friendly Way to Lose Inches, Embrace Your Hunger, and Keep the Weight Off for Good. Villacorte also points out that a sound breakfast keeps ghrelin, a hormone that “controls our hunger and drives our appetite,” in check.

2. According to Villacorte, combining carbohydrates and protein at every meal gives the “optimal blend of nutritional elements to fight cravings, control hunger, gain energy, and stimulate fullness.” Carbohydrates, for example, lower ghrelin, help with brain function, and decrease cravings. Protein, on the other hand, “increases your metabolism and helps keep ghrelin down.” Villacorte suggest a salad with chicken or fish for lunch. “Add a carbohydrate such as quinoa, garbanzo beans, lentils, or brown rice,” he says. And for a snack, have “an apple and a piece of turkey, low-fat cheese, or a hard-boiled egg.”

Small changes make for easy weight loss, but the best weight loss promises big results. Follow these small but poderoso steps for weight loss that is as easy as it is successful.

We all know being overweight is unhealthy, but excess fat around your abdomen can be especially risky.

“Belly fat is a sign that we’re carrying a different type of fat that lies deeper in our bodies -- visceral fat -- which surrounds our organs,” says Dr. Helen Troncoso, DPT, Ms. New York America 2012 and CEO of Reinventing You, LLC. Here, Troncoso shares why belly fat is harmful to your health -- plus how to banish it once and for all.

Belly Fat Breakdown
Belly fat is visceral fat, which differs from the subcutaneous fat that we can see and pinch. “Numerous studies have linked high levels of visceral fat to insulin resistance, which makes us vulnerable to developing chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even certain cancers,” says Troncoso.

There are two common culprits that contribute to excess abdominal weight:

• Stress: Excessive stress over a period of time can cause your body to react by releasing the hormone cortisol. Cortisol stimulates your liver to release more glucose, which makes you feel hungrier and causes you to eat more.

 The Fix: Set aside some “me time” for stress-relieving activities like meditation, yoga or just dancing to Shakira.

• Empty Calories: Even foods that have the same number of calories should not be treated equal. Calories with no nutritional value (think soda, white bread and sweets) are big offenders. “They overload our liver trying to process these foods, and ends up turning it into fat,” says Troncoso. Excess sugar in junk food is said to be one of the leading causes of belly fat.

The Fix: Craving sweets? Grab a cup of berries. Need some carbs? Choose wheat bread or brown rice. Also start making smarter choices in how you cook your favorite foods (less oil and salt) and the sizes of the portions you eat in one sitting.

Belly Fat Be Gone
Most women juggle family, friends, work commitments and more, so it’s easy to get off track. The trick to banishing belly fat is to put aside any excuses: Just 30 minutes of exercise each day is all it takes to get started.

There is no secret to losing weight: “Good nutrition and exercising four to five times per week will keep you fit and clear from belly fat and a slew of other dangerous diseases,” says Troncoso. When it comes to dieting, forget extreme diets and instead aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. This is the most effective way to lose the weight and keep it off.

It’s important to embrace a new lifestyle in which you can still enjoy the foods you love, but be smart about what you eat and how often you exercise. 

From the time nuestros bebés start eating solids, they are introduced to different tastes that will last throughout their lives. That’s why healthy food picks are crucial from the start.

Here, Claudia M. Gonzalez, MS. RDN, author of Gordito Doesn’t Mean Healthy, shares her winning tips for keeping your kids’ palates satisfecho -- and their bodies saludable.

Set a Good Example

“Sounds like a broken record, but it's true: Parents need to set a healthy example,” says Gonzalez. There is no such thing as a perfect diet, but Gonzalez tells parents to teach their children to eat fruits and vegetables above any other food. And remember: They may not embrace healthy eating immediately, but keep at it. “Nutrition takes patience, repetition, creative planning and not giving up,” she says.

Be Flexible

When introducing fruits and veggies, let your child tell you them the way he likes rather than forcing something on him. “If your child will only eat espinacas with lots of dressing, allow it,” says Gonzalez. “Eventually, they will outgrow these food combinations, but at least they became familiar with the foods.”

If your child is school-aged and you’re worried about unhealthy school lunches, but aren’t able to send a home-packed lunch with him every day, take control at home. You can compensate for any unhealthy foods through a nutritious breakfast and dinner.

Remember the Food Groups

The basic food groups are vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, protein and healthy fats. “Ask yourself, ‘Does my child eat from all food groups on a daily basis?’ If not, rethink your menu and grocery shopping,” says Gonzalez. For babies eating solids, Gonzalez says they don’t need to eat all food groups in a day, but recommends incorporating each group within a couple days each week.

Gonzalez also suggests letting kids have a sugar allowance. “Teach children how to use non-healthy foods within their diets rather than prohibiting them, which may lead [kids] to become junk-food lovers,” she says.

Get Moving

Diet is just one part of the healthy equation. Early in life, keep your kids active by going to the park or playground, joining playgroups or enrolling them in sports. Kids will enjoy exercise if it’s fun!

Once available only in select natural food stores, quinoa -- a high-protein grain found in South America, and an original staple in the Incan diet -- has been taking the U.S. by storm. It’s showing up on cooking shows and in food magazines as a healthy alternative to pasta and a healthy way to up your protein intake.

The ancient Incans fed quinoa to their warriors to help sustain them in battle. Nowadays, quinoa is used in the battle of the bulge, because it’s protein rich (with nine amino acids), high in fiber, and mineral rich with lots of iron and magnesium. Try these tres healthy and yummy recipes to get the most of this sabroso superfood!

DESAYUNO: CINNAMON-RAISIN QUINOA

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole or low-fat milk
  
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar, plus more for serving
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
• 1 cup raisins

Directions: Start by bringing milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until three-quarters of the milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook, covered, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in raisins (you can also try dried blueberries or another dried fruit) and cook for 30 seconds. Serve with additional milk, sugar, cinnamon, and blueberries as desired.

ALMUERZO: QUINOA NIÇOISE SALAD

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 potatoes, peeled
• 1 bunch green beans
• 3 eggs, hard-boiled, chopped
• Olives, pitted
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
Rinse quinoa, then add to a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes once it’s done cooking. In the meantime, boil the potatoes until they’re soft. Quickly sautee the green beans until they’re al dente. Mix quinoa and potatoes, green beans and eggs together, then add olives, salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.

Senar: Quinoa with Black Beans and Avocado

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 large white onion
  
• 10 medium button mushrooms, diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (or more to taste)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved  
• 2 small avocados, peeled and diced           
• Salt, to taste

Instructions: 
Cook quinoa per the instructions in the Niçoise Salad, above. In a saucepan, sauté onions and mushrooms in the olive oil. Add fluffed quinoa and black beans. Add lime juice and stir in sliced cherry tomatoes and avocado, and add salt to taste.