The summer months are here and that means it's a great time to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. There are many exercises you can do outdoors that contribute to a healthy, active lifestyle. This summer, ditch your indoor fitness routine and try these refreshing outdoor exercises instead!

We’ve all tried to make changes in our lives, right? Whether it’s quitting smoking, eating less, exercising more or learning a new skill, chances are you went through these stages of change and may not have even known it!

Check out these five stages of change and learn how to reach success with your goals.

June is national fresh fruit and vegetable month and a great time to start eating more produce. Connecting with local farms, farmers markets or a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm can make getting fresh and seasonal produce easy.  Check out these “fresh” suggestions for purchasing and preparing fresh fruit and vegetables this summer.

Right now there is a national effort to prevent type 2 diabetes. Diabetes in the U.S has been increasing throughout the decades and is expected to continue increasing significantly. 29 million people have type 2 diabetes—that’s 1 out of 11 people.¹

Even more concerning is that 86 million U.S adults have prediabetes, and 9 out of 10 of them don’t know they do. It’s clear that this is a big challenge we are facing, and without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15-30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.¹

Eating right and regularly exercising are not the only ways to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. These four lifestyle factors play an essential role as well.

Our bodies are made up of 60% water, so it's important that we are drinking it each day. There are many added benefits to drinking water, check out this [infographic] to learn more.

The Mediterranean Diet is a proven eating strategy for good heart health. A recent study shows the health benefits may be partly due to improvements in HDL particle function.¹

What is HDL particle function and why is this important?

It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed when setting new lifestyle goals. You might need help getting started, help with motivation along the way, or additional support to keep you on track. The good news, there’s an app for that. There are plenty of health apps that can be downloaded to your smartphone that are designed to help you meet your goals. I bet you’re wondering, how do I know which app is right for me?

Recently, the American College of Cardiology released a comprehensive review of foods and diets. ¹ Included in this review, people were advised to avoid a Southern diet due to evidence that it negatively impacts cardiovascular health. The Southern diet is typically high in added fats and oils, fried foods, eggs, organ and processed meats, and sugar-sweetened drinks. While this report provides great information for healthy living, it doesn’t do much for my Southern palate.

Hi Everyone!  Welcome back to In the Kitchen with Caitlin, a blog series where I feature some lesser known ingredients and highlight ways to use them in delicious and healthy recipes.  Did you know March is National Frozen Food Month?  No?  Well, don’t feel bad, I didn’t either until just recently.  In honor of National Frozen Food Month, I’m going to blog about how to build a nutritious and delicious smoothie.  Smoothies are a great way to save some money on fruit by buying frozen.  I love having frozen fruit on hand because unlike fresh, it is picked in season and flash frozen so the flavors are great any time of year.  Also, frozen fruit, unlike canned, is typically frozen without any added sugar or juice so you’re just getting the fruit itself.  Lastly, keeping frozen fruit on hand means you don’t have to worry about it spoiling.  If you live alone, you may be deterred from buying fruit because it tends to spoil before you get a chance to eat it all, with frozen fruit you don’t have to worry about that!