How to have your cake and eat it, too

First of all, I’d like to thank all my readers who have e-mailed me. Thank you for reading my column.

Here are some of their questions which I’ve decided to feature this Sunday. For some answers to their inquiries, I’ve referred to Jeanne Jones’ Eating Smart, ABCs of the New Food Literary. This is a book I am currently reading and learning a lot from.

Is it possible to reduce the amount of sugar you use in cooking without giving up sweetness?

• You can raise the level of sweetness in many foods without adding any sweetener by using vanilla extract, cinnamon or both.

How can you reduce salt in your cooking and still heighten the flavor?

• Herbs and spices will do the job. Also, stock, juices or wine can replace water for added flavor or smell in cooking.

How can you establish an exercise routine if you travel a lot?

• I suggest you bring a pair of running shoes. Most hotels have jogging maps.

Or when booking a room in the hotel, make sure it is equipped for your needs. Most hotels worldwide have swimming pools, gyms and exercise classes.

How long after a meal should you wait before exercising and why?

• I suggest between 20 and 30 minutes after. However if you’ve had a heavy meal, it would be more comfortable if you waited a little longer.

From books I have read and from asking my trainers, the reason for this is that digestion requires an increase in blood and oxygen to the digestive organs which means that exercising too soon after eating could deprive the muscles you are working of needed nutrients (blood and oxygen).

According to many of my friends, I should stretch more. Why is stretching so important?

• Stretching is important because as we become older, our muscles become shorter and tauter (trimmer). We need to stretch so we don’t lose our flexibility range. Without stretching, we are more susceptible to knee, hip, shoulder and elbow injuries.

Can you suggest a substitute for mayonnaise?

• I got this recipe from Jeanne Jones’ Eating Smart:

Mayo Not

• half a pound of tofu, cubed (one cup)

• one tbsp. of canola or olive oil

• one tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juices

• a half tsp. of salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container. It will keep one week. Each cup serving contains approximately: calories 75, cholesterol 0 mg, fat six g, sodium 281 mg.

This is not a question one of my readers asked but something I want to share with you from Jeanne Jones’ book because so many including myself are still unsure about this.

What does "All-Natural" mean?

• Not much. It’s a vaguely defined term that suggests a product contains no "artificial" additives and has not been highly processed. It’s no guarantee of healthful, nutritious food, a chocolate chip cookie made with white flour, coconut oil, chocolate and tons of sugar is "all natural."

Something else I’d like to share with you is the topic on labels. We need to read labels carefully so we know what we are buying. Here are a few guidelines.

• If you look at a breakfast cereal label and see that the first ingredient listed is sugar, you can be fairly certain that the cereal is not a good source of complex carbohydrates.

• To avoid saturated fat, don’t buy any product containing coconut or palm kernel oil. Also avoid buying a product that lists vegetable oil or vegetable shortening as an ingredient since it probably refers to coconut or palm kernel oil.

• Items labeled "fruit juice" should be 100 percent real juice. However a "fruit drink" may be primarily sugar with color and flavor added and a small percentage of real juice.

• Even if salt is not listed as an ingredient, an item may be high in sodium. The world sodium may be embedded in a larger word, monosodium glutamate.

• Many breads labeled "high in fiber" or added fiber are really made with refined flour and just enough grain to use the phrase legally. If the first ingredient is anything other than a whole grain flour, it is not what you are looking for.

I hope I was able to enlighten you with my answers to your questions and I hope what I’ve shared with you from Jeanne Jones’ book enlightened you on certain issues. It certainly helped me with mine.

Until next Sunday!

Thank you to those who’ve bought my video, Working Out 2 with Jackielou Blanco. I hope you enjoyed my workout.

(E-mail me at babyjackster@hotmail.com)