I wanna' soak up the potato
French fries aren't exactly on the That's Fit healthy menu, buuuuut sometimes a little reward is well worth the temporary departure from your diet. Nevertheless, calories and blood sugar spikes aside, we definitely don't want our fries to contain known carcinogens. So, if you're going to break from your diet for a few chips, don't risk cashing in everything in the process.To safeguard your health, be sure to soak your potatoes in water before frying them, says a new study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Doing so can stop the formation of acrylamide, a cancer-causing compound that is produced naturally when starchy foods are cooked at temperatures above 248 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers discovered that the longer you allow your potatoes to soak in water, the less chance they have to form the carcinogen. For example, the study revealed that just washing raw French fries, soaking them for 30 minutes or soaking them for two hours reduced the formation of acrylamide by up to 23 percent, 38 percent and 48 percent respectively
Sometimes it's hard to serve a healthy appetizer or nutritious munchies, isn't it? Corn chips and salsa, potato chips and sour cream and onion dip seem like staples, but they are really saboteurs -- of our health and our waistlines!
Not only is it easy to make healthy appetizers, but with little effort, you can impress your guests and enjoy taste and nutrition.Dips
Trade those chips for some whole wheat pita, or better yet, fresh veggies, and serve up some hummus. Traditional is universally appealing, or try some black bean hummus -- one of our favorites!
If you've got to have that onion dip, try this healthy version, made with tofu and fresh garlic and onions and parsley.
Substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream in the creamy pesto dip, and you've got a simple dip with some basil-y pizazz.
Continue reading Cook healthy appetizers with ease
No need to 'fess up if you've ever peed in the shower, worn dirty underwear or skipped a handwashing after a trip to the ladies' room. About 1,000 adult women admitted to committing a mix of these and other germy sins, and Dr. Billy Goldberg shares which unhealthy habits it's time to nix. Read AOL Health's "How Dirty Are You?" to see if the "five-second rule" or your habit of going barefoot at the gym are really not-so-bad as you think!
Ladies, before making the big step of moving in with your boyfriend, perhaps first consider a study from Newcastle University in the U.K., in which it was discovered that men tend to lose weight when they live with a woman, whereas women tend to gain weight when in that living arrangement.
Reviewing previously published data on the influence that live-in partners have on each other's eating habits, the researchers found that guys tend to follow a more healthy diet, while their better halves tend to eat less healthfully than they did prior to cohabitation.
When living with someone, chance are you're eating the same foods. But, because men and women typically metabolize food at different rates, men are frequently able to burn off more of the calories from these foods than their cohabiting girlfriends. 
When you're surrounded by a wide variety of foods, your appetite will suddenly seem bigger. This isn't a scientific fact, but merely an astute observation. Don't agree? Think about the last time you ate at a buffet. Did you eat more than you usually do?
Now for the scientific facts. According a study published in the journal Eating Behaviors, dieters who were allowed to eat whatever snack they wanted consumed more calories each week than those who were restricted to one type.
Use this logic to your advantage. Whatever it is you crave the most, go for it -- but only it. For example, if your weakness happens to be frozen Snicker bars, avoid having cake, cookies, and Doritos lying around, too. Chances are, you'll soon grow a bit tired of eating the Snicker bars all the time, making you less likely to reach for them when you have an urge to snack. And, because you don't have those other unhealthy treats around, you'll reach for what you do have: healthy snacks.