Clearly Mola Ram knows how to party. But do YOU, dear reader? Are you prepared to satiate the masses’ roaring collective appetite for gaggles of grilled goodness that’s also good for them? Well, maybe you are. I don’t know you that well. How was your holiday weekend? How are you parents? Did you, your friends, or your family members avoid artery-clogging, processed fare this past fourth of July? I’ll go out on a limb and say yes.

Ah, nerds! The truth hurts. But don’t be ashamed; it’s not too late for schlubs like us. Though I have tasted the heretical flavors of the forbidden brat and the verboten allure of the hot dog, that doesn’t mean that I (i.e.: you) am a lost cause. It means I am human: I have made mistakes, but I, too, have the capacity for change. Come, dear reader: change with me. Let’s flambe the summer away to our heart’s collective content. Let’s rid ourselves of unhealthy horrors but remain replete with the tastes all grill lovers (especially Madonna) cherish.

The official Whole Foods Market blog kicks off our exploration into healthy grilling with a comprehensive how-to-grill guide; particularly juicy tidbits (fake editor’s note: that was clearly a hilarious grill pun) include lightly brushing canola oil on veggies and fruits to prevent sticking; dousing fish in acid-based (example: lemon juice) marinades for less than twenty minutes to prevent mushiness; and allowing fish to develop a crust vital to easy removal by not touching, poking, or moving the pieces for the first three minutes.

It smells like fish in here?

In a similar vein, The Reluctant Gourmet passes on some simple techniques, like bringing items to room temp before grilling, carrying a spray water bottle in case of untimely flare-ups, and understanding the importance of a preheated grill, be it charcoal or gas. Once your flames have reached their peak, HealthCastle urges you to avoid being redundant or boring: with so many cuts of meat, they advise everyone to broaden meat horizons, and even provide fat content and cooking tips for the most popular meat cuts.

One tip HealthCastle forgot: if possible, avoid all meat commerce with Bill the Butcher.

Conversely, if you flout smug, serial meat tasting in f(l)avor of the most American of meats—the hamburger—then friend, at least do it right: peruse six steps to a delicious beef burger from RealSimple (example: use your fingers to make a shallow well in the top of each patty, which will prevent overplumping), or try the Ultimate Homemade Burger from Men’s Health: by swapping ground turkey for ground beef, as they suggest, you save nearly 100 calories per patty, and using their Swiss cheese/guacamole combo more than compensates for any perceived drop in taste.

Froth accordingly

Some of us (bloggers) are lazy, and others (me) have tiny brains,  so opting for the frozen patties at the Safeway often seems like a smart, efficient plan; fortunately, HealthCastle refutes this claim, proving that making your own patty versus thawing out a store-bought frisbee is cheaper, healthier (drastically less sodium), and only 15 minutes longer. Plus their recipe includes the whole grain bulgur; though purists may scoff, perhaps “zero trans fats,” “more fiber,” and “less overall fat content” might convince them.

The Vulgar Bulgars warn you not to #)*@*#! slight bulgur burgers.

HealthCastle also warns us about what’s in our favorite condiments: the sodium, calories, and fat content of all the usual suspects (ketchup, mustard, mayo) are on display here, as is this important caveat: a single serving size of each of these savory spreads is one tablespoon. If you’d rather revamp what your burger wears, RealSimple recommends twelve creative toppings, like cajun grilled onions on a turkey burger, quick pickled cucumbers on a salmon burger, or pineapple-jalapeno salsa on a beef burger.

The dancing Better Off Dead burger FTW

You know, all this talk about grilled grub is making me thirsty. What’s that, you say? Booze? Hey now. Not so fast, homey. First, to class up the joint, we should check out Whole Foods’s Top 10 Summer Wines: care for a refreshing V-Solo Verdelho, m’lady? Then, naturally, we heed Men’s Health’s advice and partake in sixteen alcohol swaps that can save us lbs: for example, mojitos over Long Island Iced Teas at the beach, Beck’s Light over Bud Light while we lounge, and bloody marys over pina coladas when dreaming of an island paradise.

And don't hang up!

Mostly, though, to be healthy while manning the grill this summer (and year-round, really), we must remember this: according to Healthline, we don’t necessarily need meat (or dairy) to be healthy and active. As The Daily Green posits in their healthy BBQ tips, eating a steak with, say, a side of broccoli will counteract the unhealthy effects of red meat (fatty, excess protein) more effectively than eating said steak with French fries.

So if you’re busting out some braised steak tips for the fam, braise a healthy portion of brussels sprouts while you’re at it. That way, you can have your (beef)cake… and eat it too.

What a cake eater.

Hey, sounds like a pretty good idea, right? All we have to do is consume fewer calories and burn more, and voila, we are thin and trim. So how do we go about it? What’s the plan? Well, we gotta exercise more, eat less meat, avoid trans fats, yada yada yada… wait a minute. What’s that? Are you telling me, health experts at Healthline, that simple nutrition advice like this is not always beneficial?

… Ahem. Pardon?

Hold the phone, Dr. Kim: is it true that drinking too much water is dangerous? I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat it? If I’m hearing you loud and clear, what you’re saying is information we’re often given about cholesterol is inaccurate?

I’m alone. Confused. Frightened. Bewildered. What am I to do? How am I to proceed? Help me, Wellness360! You’re my… uh… my one… my only.. h… ho–.. line?!?!

Let’s take a collective deep breath, dear, dear readers. Breathe in. Release. Let it out. Let it go: the resentment, the frustration, the exasperation, the hate. In fact, heed BeliefNet’s ten tips for coping with anger. Articulate it. Scream it. And remember: we’re here. You don’t have to face this alone. You know what? Rest your head on our shoulder.

There. That’s better. Shh. I know. Now, what you have to do is interpret these simple nutritional guidelines for yourself: there is rarely universal truthiness bereft of some gray area. Understand this. Appreciate the challenge of creating a unique, personalized fitness regiment rather than giving up; for instance, track your daily caloric intake, increase the intensity of your already established workout routine, or take to heart some of the other tips BeliefNet gives for overcoming a stalled diet.

If you’re still at the end of your wellness rope, absorb four of Health.com’s tips for sticking to your diet: concentrate on the small picture, don’t sabotage yourself, ditch the all-or-nothing mentality, and attempt to plan for the curveballs that life hurls your way. Couple a few of their 20 little ways to keep the pounds off (watch coffee calories, sleep better, and keep an exercise journal, to name three) with five more ways to cut calories without losing flavor (like substituting oat flour for regular flour), and bam, you’re  back in the saddle and on the treadmill. Remember: avoid feeling overwhelmed or obligated to do everything on these lists or anything in excess. Do what works for you.

Garfield can get away with this, but for most of us, it’s but a dream; instead, what works for us are quick, cheap, and easy answers to health. Well, for something quick, stock up on the best grab-n-go lunches at the supermarket. Hand-picked by Women’s Health, the list includes delicious and nutritious options for delicacies such as frozen pizza, chili, and mac and cheese. For a cheap, healthy option, discover no cost gardening, which, according to The Daily Green, involves two stalwarts of frugality: very little money and only occasionally leaving the house. To make things even easier, RealSimple offers up solutions to everyday health dilemmas: for example, order dessert over a second glass of wine and eat a donut for breakfast rather than nothing at all.

Maybe take it a little easier on the donuts than Homer, though. Just a thought.

Sometimes, amidst our quick, cheap, and easy lifestyles, a debilitating phenomenon emerges: it’s what wellness360 likes to call the “why am I still hungries?” Relentless, soulless, and chameleon-like, this beast refuses to back down. Fortunately, Healthline says that refined carbs typically make you feel hungrier, and therefore recommends eating foods high in protein, vegetables, fiber, and water. As a bookend, BeliefNet rolls out eight practical steps to staunch “scarfing on the go” and achieve the Zen-like state of mindful eating.

Your moment of Zen

For those of us with families, not only do we have to be quick and easy, but we have to satisfy the urges, cravings, and idiosyncracies of everyone. This… can be daunting. However, feel free to lean on RealSimple and their 7 easy salad suppers or Men’s Health with their healthy, interactive “guy meals made easy” menu. Women’s Health teaches you how to supply your freezer with the healthiest foods in the supermarket, so you’ll always have something healthy on hand and subsequently avoid hastily settling for less.

If you desperately need to get out of the house and take a night off, Men’s Health steps up again with the healthiest restaurant meals in America: from Chili’s to Denny’s to Romano’s Macaroni Grill, they’ve got you covered. HealthCastle gets involved here too, explaining how to still be savvy and healthy when dining out at Mexican restaurants. For example, enjoy beans, grilled chicken, or entrees made with soft flour tortillas rather than excess tortilla chips, ground beef dishes, or dishes made with fried tortillas. As Texas residents, we find this information invaluable.

Yes, please. Uno mas.

As we sift through the veritable smorgasbord of suggestions, Wellness360 comes to only one irrefutable conclusion: in the words of the Mayo Clinic, a weight-loss program that works for life is not a diet—it’s a lifestyle change. By following broad guidelines like the Mayo Clinic’s healthy weight food pyramid, we find solid ground necessary to accomplishing this goal; if we supplement our efforts with their secrets to a better workout (two examples: pump your arms when you walk, don’t slouch when you weight train), we put ourselves in a position to accomplish it faster.

Within this lifestyle change, we can take a page from HealthCastle and turn our healthy lifestyle into an Earth-friendly ritual when we make small adjustments; as a result, we’re healthy for the benefit of ourselves and the environment, which increases our quality of life in a range of ways. The bottom line is that eating and exercising for the benefit of your body and your planet simplifies your life and saves you money, according to The Daily Green: I ask you, astute readers, what’s not to like about that?

The question is rhetorical, you see.

Did you know it’s been over a year since we started not-so-semi-regularly updating Wellness360? Hey now! Move over, WebMD! Since we admittedly forgot to timely commemorate this thrilling occasion, let’s do some quick backtracking: one of our first (and favorite) posts centered on Earth Day 2008. It was fun, informative, and Will Smith-friendly—the quintessential Wellness360 post.

I’d love to duplicate that formula, but doing an Earth Day post post-Earth Day is just lazy. However, I’m nothing if not a proponent of a strained segue that masks my inner languor: Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and who’s the fairest mother of them all? If you guessed Mother Earth, we’re probably best friends. So don’t be frightened! Follow my lead, put on your mom jeans, and join Wellness360 as we show you how to enjoy Mom’s day the pro-wellness way.

As mother probably always beat into you (maybe that’s just me), waste not, want not: because I’m empty and manipulative, I will interpret that advice to mean “get to the point.” Here’s the point: help save the planet, as told to you by the thoughtful crew at RealSimple. Think of each of their easy-to-adopt suggestions as proof to Mom that you care: for example, clean your lint filter, use a programmable thermostat, turn off the tap when you brush your teeth, or, before you habitually throw something away, think for a minute or two about how you could reuse it.

Furthermore, because refrigerators and freezers use about a sixth of home electricity, check those temps: if your fridge is lower than 37 degrees F, or your freezer below 3, The Daily Green says that’s overkill. Overlooked is the amount of water we waste: RealSimple strikes back with 9 ways to conserve, like watering your lawn with a hose instead of a sprinkler or eating one more vegetarian meal a week (replacing just four ounces of beef in your diet a week with a vegetarian option can save more than 3,000 gallons of water).

Masta Killa from Wu Tang says something about Shaolin (probably), but also says: protect ya water supply

Now that we’ve pleased Mother Nature, we can parlay those principles into naturally  showing our other mothers the adulation they deserve.  HealthCastle has an Earth Day gift guide that serves as a thoughtful tool to use to satisfy a wellness-minded mother, and The Daily Green gives us 8 green gift ideas to make mom proud, ranging from stylish, eco-friendly shoes to a lovely bouquet of local flowers from the farmer’s market.

Unfortunately, cosmetics represent the most treacherous of the items you may want to avoid: though we want mom to look good, according to BeliefNet, the toxic chemicals in some cosmetics are poisonous and linked to cancers. What’s more, The Daily Green relays some findings from a recent blood test study that indicate that each woman involved tested positive for between 25 and 45 different chemicals in her blood. The moral? Don’t buy your beautiful mother any more harmful cosmetics; instead, talk to her about how safe what she’s already using is.

We all know what happened at Axis Chemicals. Mom deserves better.

If you’re going to be around the extended family this Mother’s Day, odds are you might go out for some dinner or a cocktail or two; if that’s the case, pass along to mom and the fam nutritional information on some popular restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, courtesy of Healthline. Now you’ll finally know how many calories those delicious cheddar biscuits are. It might also behoove you to know the 20 unhealthiest vegetarian meals in America (Uno Chicago Grill has the worst) or America’s worst salads (the infamous On The Border tops the list), as discovered by Men’s Health.

Better yet, skip the eating out and enjoy home-cooked family mealtime all over again: according to Healthline, you eat smaller portions, have control over what goes in your food, and bond with parents and siblings when you eat at home. Also, if you spend time “mothering” the food—preparing it, planning it, cooking it—you gain some respect for what ma endures and raise your own awareness regarding your health and well-being.

On Mother's Day, take some time to make the donuts yourself.

If you do indeed decide to stay home and cook up some grub for your favorite lady, take good care of her: employ healthy cooking techniques from MayoClinic, like using spices and herbs to add color, taste, and aroma to foods without adding salt or fat, or substituting cooking spray or water in place of oil for a low fat cooking option. Healthline educates us on some green cooking tips, an article that also doubles as a handy source for potential mom-gift fodder. Finally, Dr. Ben Kim explicates the foods with the most antioxidants (small, dried red beans, cranberries, and artichoke hearts top the list), which is important because antioxidants may prevent mom from succumbing to heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.

For this mom, it may already be too late

And if your mom’s anything like mine, she hates a messy kitchen (Am I right?! Hey, what’s the deal with airline food??). So once you fricassee her favorite cuisine, clean up the right way with a few of the 66 all-natural cleaning solutions recommended by RealSimple (for example: lemons to remove tough food stains from cutting boards, borax to clean dishwashers or pots and pans). They also pass along a few wise techniques to keep the kitchen clean longer as well as an interactive stain remover tool that dynamically tells you how to keep your pants naturally stain-free, just as mom intended.

Once the cleaning concludes, you’re usually divvying up leftovers; this time, consider avoiding plastic containers when you go about  microwaving whatever’s left for tomorrow’s lunch. According to the Daily Green, heating increases the likelihood that chemicals will be released. Also, think about an alternative to a post-meal piece of chewing gum: Dr. Ben Kim says gum chewing causes unnecessary wear and tear of your jaw cartilage and contributes to chronic, intermittent headaches.

Instead of chewing mindlessly and silently, spend some time chatting with and getting to know better the mothers who were biologically forced to spend time with you. Ask your birth mother RealSimple’s ten essential questions for mom (a sample: what’s the one thing you would have done differently as a mom?); as for mamma nature, well, HealthCastle’s guide to local eating is a good place to start. We all know the farmer’s market is mother nature’s version of Pottery Barn anyway.

All moms love stockpiling junk from pottery barn. They're salivating right now.

Good-natured, uninspired mom jokes aside, thanks for putting up with your kids, moms around the world (especially mine). Wellness360 salutes you for it.

Yes, fair reader, you guessed it. The answer is spring—spring is in the air. And fortunately for us, spring typically smells like the sizzle from a succulent grilled paradise. I’m temporarily blinded just thinking (and looking) about it. And while baseball may be the official pastime of spring, I, for one, can hardly imagine fully enjoying the sport without a serious grill-laden tailgate or two.

However, here’s where the two traditions diverge: while baseball is supremely healthy, keeping participants active, engaged, and alert, we cannot in good conscience always reciprocate the same good vibrations about the ubiquitous spring grillfest. Rife with hulking burgers, fatty hunks o’ steak, or piles of processed meats, like any baseball team, a license to grill can turn ghastly if not managed well. So heed the forthcoming scouting report from the grizzled vets at wellness360 to ensure your team of spring cuisine is more Rays (quite good) than Rangers (endless disappointment).

Are you grilling? ARE YOU GRILLING UNHEALTHILY? There's no unhealthy grilling in blogging!

Start by taking the necessary steps to eating foods produced locally as much as possible. In the linked article from The Daily Green, you’ll find hordes of tips on integrating local foods into your spring schedule, like applications that find local farms and farmers’ markets in your area or suggestions for seasonal food substitutes (for example, replacing sweet corn with in-season grilled asparagus). Real Simple has a sleek and savvy interactive tool that not only guides you through all of the in-season fruits and vegetables but also reveals how to best cook and store them. Healthline further comments on unofficial grill season, doling out six easy tips to creating a delicious grill spread that’s good for you too.

Come on, meat. Grill lean and choose baked beans over high fat and high calorie coleslaw or potato salad. It's more democratic.

Since friends are proven to be good for your health, it’s important that you repay the wellness you receive from the gallery of good buds gathering around your grill. Remember to smile—according to BeliefNet, it lowers your blood pressure, makes others comfortable, relieves stress, and enhances respiratory function. Furthermore, when you choose fresh, healthy ingredients to grill, you and your friends heed more of BeliefNet’s advice to live fresh. Finally, while enjoying the spring sunshine with your closest pals and a crackling grill, be aware of RealSimple’s common phrases to avoid in conversation (like “wow, you’ve lost a ton of weight!” or “how are you still single?”); if you don’t observe proper etiquette, you may sabotage your social life even though you’re clearly the master of healthy grilling.

You grill meat like a SLOB!

As a grill master, you should be in tune with the results—and meaning of—our nation’s annual health report card. According to Healthline, death rates from heart disease, stroke, and cancer have decreased because of better diagnosis and treatment, not because people aren’t contracting the diseases. Remember that juicy tidbit the next time you grill up a seemingly innocuous slab of red meat—according to Yahoo! News via the National Cancer Institute, large amounts of red and processed meats increase one’s mortality risk (mostly due to heart disease and cancer).

There, there—calm down. Before we collectively careen off the ledge, let’s listen to some of Healthline’s meaty advice: they explain how much red meat is too much, how much experts recommend for regular consumption, and how to realistically scale back your red meat intake rather than eliminate it. From there, Women’s Health expounds upon Meatgate with ten packaged meat secrets revealed: if you’ve ever wondered what meat claims like “No Retained Water,” “Air Chilled,” or “All Natural” really mean, they’ve got the goods.

Ladies, if all this meat controversy makes you want to take a drink, before you hastily imbibe, at least familiarize yourself with another National Cancer Institute study that correlates alcohol and cancer risk among women. However, if you’ve already staggered down to your favorite watering hole, Men’s Health recommends the best and worst bar foods (mojitos over Long Island Iced Teas, barbecue sauce over ranch dip) while RealSimple gets interactive with a handy and healthy food and wine pairing guide.

Knowledge about healthy food and drink: don't steal home without it.

Now that you know how to protect yourself against meat-centric, heart disease-related mortality (whew!), let’s delve into another issue of high health importance: high blood sugar and insulin. According to Dr. Ben Kim, you need about one teaspoon of sugar floating through your blood vessels on a regular basis. Excess sugar, as we can infer, foreshadows excess insulin, which risks weight gain, sodium retention, reduction of good cholesterol, and an increase in triglycerides. As a deterrent, Dr. Kim recommends activities and exercise that build or maintain muscle tissue, and the Global Health Center suggests that where you live can have an effect on your abiilty to lose weight. Check out WalkScore to see if where you live is conducive to a healthy lifestyle, and understand the calorie burn difference between running and walking.

Fortunately, friends, everywhere we turn—from our grills to our friends to our neighborhoods and communities—there are simple and effective ways to safeguard and enhance our bodies and our minds. Let’s challenge ourselves, dear readers, by taking care of ourselves.

Everybody loves an underdog

See what I did there? With the title? Clearly hilarious. My ability to wow readers with wordplay is unfailing. And, look, it’s the middle of March: the season is a-changing. Oftentimes, these gusts o’ change beget the urge to change things within ourselves. Still drifting through the post-New Year malaise, resolutions unmet? Still unfit, untidy, or unhappy? Or, faithful reader, have you taken certain steps toward personal betterment, but feel not-so-certain about the impending result(s)?

Well, in lieu of the season, and in lieu of our recent blood work and Q-n-A with Dr. J, Wellness360 is back with an empire of info on improving diet and day-to-day health.

Technically, February was Heart Health Month, but Dr. Jeff spoke about precautionary heart disease tactics during his recent visit, so let’s address some cold hard facts here: according to About.com, heart disease kills 1 in 3 women and remains the #1 killer of women and men. In fact,  heart disease kills more people each year than all other causes of death combined. The aforementioned About.com article lists multiple helpful tidbits to prevent heart disease, and Healthline presents the top tasty, healthy, heart-friendly snacks: raisins (fat- and cholesterol-free), nuts (the best are walnuts, pecans, and almonds), oatmeal (full of soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol), flax seeds (high in omega-3 fats), veggies (antioxidants and fiber), and hummus.

From: http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/04/29/features/story1.html

We’re all quite familiar with the pernicious snack onslaught, and when it occurs, we’re usually beset by terrible, taboo cravings (the unholy trinity of soda, chocolate, or chips). But here’s what’s almost equally insidious: even when we decide to snack healthily with a salad, yogurt, or fruit, the situation could potentially go awry. To prevent snack disaster, check out how to build the perfect salad from Men’s Health (use spinach, mixed greens, or romaine instead of iceberg lettuce, and sub feta for cheddar),  how to choose the perfect yogurt from HealthCastle (look for an “active culture [probiotics]“), and how to find quick and healthy snacks you can eat with one hand, also from HealthCastle. Furthermore, BeliefNet provides an eye-opening guide to hidden health benefits in lemons; for example, lemons can curb anxiety, remedy fever, and cure corns and calluses.

John Lemon says: lemon's all you need

Because this is real life and we live in the real world, let’s be real: sometimes it’s just not possible to happily nibble on hummus or lemons all day. With this in mind, Men’s Health unveils the best fast food meals under 500 calories, running the drive-thru gamut from Subway to Wendy’s to Taco Bell. Still crave burgers, pizza, or burritos? Not to worry: Men’s Health also knows ten ways to make your choice of fast food totally healthy. Say you don’t sample chain cuisine, but prefer to dine on a frozen food or two. Well, Healthline lays out the benefits of Lean Cuisine‘s line of frozen lunches, and again, Men’s Health has you covered with a comprehensive list of the best and worst microwave meals.

Here comes the fun cooker!

With fun cooking inevitably comes not-so-fun cleaning, especially around this time of year. I think everyone who isn’t OCD* can agree that cleaning is lame. However, much to our chagrin, it appears that cleaning is important; according to The Daily Green (via the EPA), people spend 90% of their time indoors, but indoor air quality can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. Naturally, they subsequently put forth helpful air quality tips, like installing a carbon monoxide detector, testing for radon, cleaning your air conditioner, ventilating properly, and avoiding pesticides or toxic products. Also, mothballs have been linked to health problems, so look into natural remedies to protect your clothes.

Spring (get it?) for a mothballs replacement

Because spring cleaning is intrinsically a hassle, make it easy on yourself and heed RealSimple’s surprising new cleaning solutions, which offer new cleaning spins on everyday items: polish chrome with baby oil, buff scratched CDs with toothpaste, or even remove carpet dents with a fork. However you clean, do so using healthy movement: remember to follow Healthline’s advice on bending, squatting, and sitting correctly.

Once you’ve cleaned to your heart’s desire, you might feel inclined to splurge on new items that spruce up your sparkling abode; that’s fine, but ask The Daily Green-recommended seven essential questions before making big buying decisions.

Think... before you buy. Ahem.

Thinking and asking questions are key components to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We must think before we eat. We should ask questions before we drink. We must be proactive in making good eating choices and collecting sound information instead of lazily reacting, gobbling and gorging indiscriminately and incessantly. Ponder this: think about all of the random things about health (from Health.com). Smokers are more likely to develop hearing loss. An hour nap can improve alertness for up to 10 hours. Strawberries and baking soda can whiten teeth. Vitamins don’t seem to guard against cancer or heart disease. Keeping a food diary can double weight loss.

The list may appear endless, but life isn’t; we need to keep an open mind in order to keep a healthy diet. When we educate ourselves, we can save on groceries in the supermarket; while we’re there, we can also steer clear of controversial, detrimental food additives that may be in prospective foods; what’s more, we can even make healthy versions of traditional comfort foods like spaghetti and meatballs or blueberry pancakes. This spring, let’s clean out our proverbial pantries and think about restocking and rededicating to eating healthy and being happy. Maybe achieving such a balance isn’t as hard as we think.

serious balance indeed

*No OCD cleaners were harmed in the writing of this blog

No matter your feelings about Valentine’s Day, the current state of your romantic throes, or your particular plans for the lovely event, we can all agree on one prevailing prophecy: wellness is just as much a part of Valentine’s tradition as cupid, crass commercialization, and crippling emotional rejection.

Oh, so you’re of a different mind on the subject? Well… I see you’ve left me no choice. Valentine’s Day is about giving, caring, sharing, and wellness, and if I have to prove it to you, then I certainly will. No matter the Valentine’s fare—fancy meals, decadent chocolates, extravagant bouquets, annual disappointment—we can go about it healthily, happily, and smartly.

A Happy Valentine's Day from Billy Ray Valentine and the Dukes

The Daily Green galvanizes our romantic wills with everything we need for a green energy efficient Valentine’s Day. From natural soy candles to organic flowers to fair trade and organic chocolates, they make responsible and earth-friendly wooing possible. Whatever you procure for your significant other, make sure you recycle the wrapping paper too. From there, Real Simple de-stresses Valentine’s Day with a healthy and angst-free menu, complete with a shopping list, crucial deadline tips, and recipes for romantic brownie sundaes and passion-fruit aperitifs. They also present easy Valentine’s Day ideas, like customizing your V-Day candy and cheaply upgrading your otherwise bland flower arrangements. Finally, they slyly list a host of spicy holiday shortcuts, including how to make valentines from household supplies, a rundown on quick Valentine’s treats, and the essentials for the perfect romantic table setting.

And the flowers are still standing!

When you think about dining on your flawless table, curb any recession pounds that may have emerged and eat healthy on a budget: plan ahead, go local, put meat on the side, or get a slow cooker. A crock-pot is a mean, green, recession-fighting machine, and represents not only a terrific way to inexpensively and nutritionally cook a delectable Valentine’s evening meal, but also a unique, thoughtful, and practical Valentine’s gift. A toaster oven, too, consumes far less energy than a conventional oven and produces cuisine that’s equally divine.

Example Valentine's Day sentiment: I'm toast without you

If you’d rather go out for a lavish night on the town for two, steer far clear of the worst 20 foods of 2009 as detailed by Men’s Health. Potential eateries of destination with class and sophistication like Romano’s Macaroni Grill (worst dessert, worst chicken entree, and worst pasta), Outback Steakhouse (worst ribs), and P.F. Chang’s (worst chinese entree) each earn a spot on the list, so be careful out there, lovebirds: choose wisely. Also, due to the holiday’s traditions, you savvy gentlemen should heed Women’s Health’s 20 Worst Foods for Women. If you guide your better half toward the healthiest Starbucks treat or cosmos instead of coladas, and elocute your best français, she’ll no doubt go nose over tail for you.

Love knows no altitude

Since you’ve now obtained all the wellness tips you need for a healthy and successful Valentine’s Day, only one critical ingredient remains: making sure your emotions don’t wreck what you’ve gone to such great lengths to preserve. Managing difficult situations and feelings is a dicey proposition and a task that befuddles us all, so to avoid emotional overeating, stay grounded, put things into perspective, and prepare yourself for a reality check. In addition, Beliefnet presents nine ways to face your fears, and Real Simple relays the February keep-it-together checklist: learn how to overcome seasonal stressors, save money on utilities, get moving, and get an energy boost. Healthline says we  must get outside every day to maintain optimal physical and mental health; if you keep it together, eat right, and live well, you’re laying the framework to transform more than your Valentine’s Day. With a few more smart choices, you can transform your life.

You may have noticed before us here at Wellness360, but it’s 2009! What are the odds? Time for a brand new you. Time to branch out, even be adventurous, spontaneous, rambunctious, gregarious. It’s time to change, grow, and become the you you’ve always wanted to be. Therefore, instead of cringing at this treacly attempt at galvanizing spiritual and physical harmony, you’ve already started your crusade, right?

NO!!!! I'm SICK!!! The FLUUUUUU!!! ACK!!!

Oh, my! What’s that? Cold and flu has attacked and set back your valiant attempts at slimming and improving yourself and your life? The mere threat has triggered you to spiral into a tailspin from which you may never recover? Well, frankly, I’m shocked. Friend, we must reverse these insidious tides. We must ensure 2009 is a year of success—not distress. We must defeat these bugs!

Let's do what Elmer Fudd could not.

Men’s Health wants you to know your mom was right: if you don’t take the necessary precautions, you will undoubtedly catch something that should’ve gone uncaught. Their cold and flu guide (linked to above) provides ample and timely advice on preventing the cold and flu barrage, including key defenses for contact, invasion, and infection. Some unique tidbits include wiping, not blowing, your nose (blowing can clog your sinuses), taking only one dose of a decongestant upon noticing cold symptoms, and stimulating your immune system with a brisk walk around the block. Real Simple answers your frequently asked cold and flu questions, explains why we get sick, and cautions everyone to avoid cold temperatures, low humidity, smoking, and work-related stress.

If you’re not sure what you have, or feel the fledgling beginnings of a could-be onslaught, check out the Symptom Solver at Men’s Health to determine what you have and how to fix it. According to Real Simple, certain, not all, symptoms require a trip to the doctor. In the cases that may not, use the Men’s Health Drugstore GPS, which navigates you through the cold medicine crapshoot and recommends what you really need. Mucinex for chest congestion and Tylenol Sinus Severe Congestion as a catch-all remedy are a couple of choice examples. Furthermore, while you’re out and about, pick up a humidifier to avoid becoming bed-ridden: according to Real Simple, humidifiers soothe scratchy throats and prevent static electricity.

Clean up your air (and your hair) and avoid unfortunate sickness

If you try all you can but the flu grabs ya anyway, don’t feel too blue. There are plenty of pointers that can get you back in the pink. Real Simple tells you how to cope with your recent hardship by, among a myriad of helpful hints, recommending ways to shorten the duration of a cold (nasal sprays, chicken soup), effective antiviral prescription drugs, and a bronchodilator. Men’s Health lists and describes five successful combat tactics, like green tea, moderate exercise and activity, and how to use stress as a medicine. Number one on their list, though, is the antiviral breakfast: eating a big, early, healthy meal to start your day.

Calm down.

Men’s Health recommends Raisin Bran (with 2 percent milk), a glass of orange juice, and a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and grape jelly, followed by a health-conscious smoothie. Real Simple also helps you decide what to choose with the seven principles of healthy eating, like knowing yourself and your tendencies, eating less meat, and eating—not drinking—your calories, because most beverages contain minimal nutrients. Men’s Health bookends this tidbit with the healthiest cheap foods in the supermarket (best breakfast food: eggs at $1.84/dozen) and five fruits that fight the flu:  bananas, grapefruit, cranberries, papayas, and apples.

Papayas are not only good for you: the word is delightfully fun to say and clearly some papayas are cartoonishly, hysterically large

With an arsenal of anti-flu ammunition and a litany of healthy items to scarf, you’re well on your way to realizing the brand new you of 2009.

Cousin Eddie: “You surprised [to see us], Clark?”
Clark W. Griswold: “Surprised, Eddie? If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”

If you can empathize with Clark, it’s no surprise to you, then, that during the holidays, we can all get a little stressed. Sometimes, unfortunately, that stress can even contort itself into depression. But really, it’s not that surprising or even embarrassing; if anything, it’s ordinary. Juggling work, marriage, kids, and bills on TOP of shopping, planning, cooking, organizing, decorating, schmoozing, and traveling is daunting for any human. We’re mere mortals. When you prick us, do we not bleed? When you overload us with junk to buy and eat, do we not collapse? Something is rotten in Santa’s workshop. It is the winter of discontent, and we’re all under the weather. Lucky for us, Wellness360 has the antidote for these holiday afflictions.

WebMD wastes no time delving into the specifics of holiday depression and stress, suggesting that fatigue or unrealistic holiday expectations often spur more frightening symptoms like excessive drinking, overeating, and insomnia. What’s good to know is that within the article reside 19 tips to cope with holiday tension as well as a possible clinical disorder that may cause considerable stress: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This article from Mental Health America confirms that SAD results from exposure to fewer hours of sunlight, recommends early afternoon phototherapy to counteract it, and also shines some light (fake ed.’s note: terrible pun absolutely intended) on other causes and cures related to holiday stress and SAD.

While it’s easy to get caught up in our own whirling existence of holiday ills, two particularly stress-susceptible groups sometimes go overlooked: teenagers and women. United Press International reports that most women suffer from holiday depression, citing the cause as the buildup of pressure to create the ideal holiday experience, and listing anxiety and substance dependency as potential ramifications. Beliefnet seconds the notion that most women are exhausted this time of year, but claims finding the courage to take a nap in the midst of a day can be a powerful tool in battling fatigue. Healthline also suggests that audio books in the car can reduce holiday driving stress and increase human connection.

Teenagers, like we mentioned above, also balance many emotions and obligations, and as result are often sleep-deprived, anxious, stressed, or caught cheating. If your teenager is particularly worn out this season, plenty of remedies exist at your disposal: make sure they’re eating well, exercising, reading, spending time with family, and talking to you about their stressors and pressures. Research studies show that developmental assets in adolescents beget critical positive characteristics that teens need to remain productive, responsible, and happy.

Spend some quality time with some teenagers this holiday season.

If the stress continues to weigh you down with headaches and exasperation, consider putting a cactus in front of your computer, which may counter those effects and also brighten up your desk with life and nature. In addition, joyful holiday music, according WebMD, helps your heart. The MayoClinic has 12 more tips for coping with stress and depression during the holidays, like being realistic, seeking support, planning ahead, and learning to say no, while Beliefnet strikes back with ten ways to beat the holiday blues, including creating your own traditions, helping others, and being financially responsible. For help combating anxiety or keeping inner holiday peace, check out their seven quick ways to calm down and fifteen ways to stop obsessing.

Stop obsessing about your Christmas bonus or a rabid squirrel living in your tree and enjoy the holidays.

Planning on throwing a seasonal soiree? The Daily Green helps to de-stress this endeavor, letting you know how to throw a green and cheap New Year’s party plus how to find and use green holiday decorations. Make it easy on yourself with this handy stress-free guide to holiday entertaining, courtesy of RealSimple. In it you’ll find myriad recipes, healthful lifestyle tips, easy-to-do invitations, last-minute gift ideas, and a mix-and-match holiday menu that contours to your specific needs. Couple that blueprint with Beliefnet’s easy-to-follow guide to having a green Christmas, and you’ve covered every angle without incurring a single ounce of undue distress.

The ideal Christmas party guest list

With developing stress comes the onset of bad habits: namely, untimely and unwieldy food cravings. And, since we’re right in the middle of cookies and pies and everything nice, it’s doubly hard to resist. So if you think you need just a few more hits from chocolate chip heaven to curb that incoming stress, think again: instead of caving in, take a 15 minute walk, which can reduce chocolate cravings. Or perhaps look into RealSimple’s healthy snacks that satisfy common cravings, which include Stonyfield Farm’s YoBaby Yogurt and Cocoa Via chocolate; you could even employ their seven tips of highly effective snackers. Full of simple suggestions like three 10-minute walks a day, their eight health shortcuts actually work, too! Once you adopt those, these holiday weight loss tips from Beliefnet will synergize to lean you up in time for Easter.

This year, tell your kids Santa's gonna be a little thinner... but not TOO thin.

Typical holiday stress comes and goes with the season like tinsel and hot toddies, but if you continue to feel tense, or if you’ve been feeling these pressures for a while now, listen to what your body is telling you and allow Real Simple to diagnose it; every tinge or crack or irk has a meaning. The symptom solver from Men’s Health can also help identify what ails you, and according to WebMd, if you suffer from a lack of sleep, it could be your holiday diet. Most of these pains and aches and crippling habits stem from seasonal stress, so please, heed the applicable advice and sustain your holiday sanity. From the Wellness360 family to yours, happy holidays.

The Wellness360 Family

Attention consumers: …. wait, hey, don’t look behind you! I’m talking to you. Yeah, you. You. You’re being coy. Don’t be coy. Don’t be elusive. This is not the season of being elusive; this… is the season of consumption! The holiday shopping season is upon us, bashful consumer, and that means two things: avoid Wal-Mart and avoid Wal-Mart (laugh track). But seriously, folks, instead of a white Christmas or a Lloyd Christmas, consider a green Christmas—or an energy efficient Christmas, as it were, since that’s the term that resonates most strongly with consumers; according to BNET Insight, it’s because energy efficiency is easy to understand.

During these lean economic times, one could argue it’s popular also because it’s ubiquitous: the International Energy Agency’s latest World Energy Outlook relates that our globe’s current energy trends are patently unsustainable, while HealthCastle insists we’re all having problems staying energized as winter approaches. Fortunately, in the spirit of green energy efficient Christmas, Wellness360 has found some seasonal shopping tips (think of them as coupons) to help remedy these energy ailments as Santa himself undoubtedly would: easily, jollily, and hollily.

The first order of energy efficient business is determining what is and isn’t good for you—believe it or not, some companies outright LIE about how environmentally friendly their products are. Unethical indeed. In light of these dirty deeds, try to, among other things, buy locally, read labels, and when you do, take a tip from The Daily Green and be a post-consumer consumer; that is, buy products made with recycled content. Make sure your Christmas tree is green as well—I mean, clearly it is green in hue, but if you buy one in America, you substantially decrease the possibility of inherent toxins and you help preserve much-needed domestic manufacturing jobs. Once you accomplish that, check out The Daily Green again for a comprehensive holiday gift guide featuring sustainable and nontoxic options for all sorts of recipients.

Now, none of us really want to believe it, but a truly green energy efficient Christmas means cutting back on gift giving while still showing love, appreciation, and generosity for those about whom we care. However, if it just doesn’t feel like Christmas without some stuff to unwrap, there are ways to do so efficiently: when you wrap, wrap with a green approach, and when you give, give with practicality in mind. Choose all-natural and useful home products like a power cost monitor, hapao and acorn storage containers, a reusable carryall bag, eco candles, or organic towels. Additionally, The Daily Green has 31 efficient gifts for under $20, which include stainless steel reusable water bottles, organic chocolates, leaf wire earrings from the African Wildlife Foundation, and a water-powered clock. On top of that, planting a tree, giving a soldier a cell phone, and adopting a cheetah (fake ed.’s note: sweet?!) are three of The Daily Green’s 24 ways to give without giving “stuff.”

This year, give the cheetah a merry Christmas instead.

If you’re old fashioned and you’d rather go with traditional holiday toys and gadgets, check out how 15 must-have Christmas gifts stack up efficiency-wise and consider fine-tuning that all-important x-mas list. Beware, too, astute shopper, that some “safe” toys aren’t always safe; if you’re securing for your kid, niece, or nephew the coolest schwag around, understand which toys have been recalled due to unsafe amounts of lead, and conversely, where to find safe, green toys for kids of all ages, from organic stuffed animals to recycled rubber drum sets. And hey, maybe kids aren’t your bag: you could still easily and efficiently pamper the pet in your life, or even pamper yourself with an eco-friendly bottle(s) o’ wine.

Merry Christmas from the Griswolds

Girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, neighbors, tech writers… we all have somebody to whom we owe a holiday gift obligation, and also, frankly, we’d like some stuff ourselves, like the HDTV of our choice (fake ed.’s note: sweet?!) or some hip video gaming. However, sometimes these luxuries aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: certain popular video game consoles hog considerable energy, and plasma TVs can consume more electricity than your refrigerator. Fortunately, energy efficient options for TV and gaming aren’t too hard to find. Furthermore, eco-friendly gifts for the ladies are specifically in demand in light of harmful substances found in cosmetics that could pose risks to those who are pregnant. With these astonishing truths in mind, grab the missus a stylish recycled handbag in which to carry her chemical-free, DIY beauty product alternatives, along with her bamboo cat eyeglasses, all-natural perfume, or any other green energy efficient gifts for women.

Kryptonite is a bad gift choice.

Whether we’re green gurus, energy-efficient trendsetters, or still green behind the ears, as consumers, we have the power, not unlike He-Man, to take this holiday opportunity to make our lives and our planet a little healthier. When we do that, we make the small, small world around us a ho-ho-whole lot more efficient.

Merry Christmas: Don't Shoot Your Eye Out