How’s your stress level this week? We’re into the first week of December. Is your to-do list growing and is your calendar jam-packed? Do the holiday foods and festivities have you feeling a little bloated? Whether that bloated feeling comes from swallowing too much air as you stand, talk and eat at your friend’s party, or from not getting enough fiber in your diet due to party food overload or from consuming too much salt and sodium at a food fest, there are foods to counteract the big bloat. In this month’s Family Circle magazine, check out The No-Bloat Diet including these no-bloat foods and more.

1. Dried plums and 100% plum juice (not to be confused with prune juice): provide the body with fiber, potassium, magnesium and sorbitol…all found naturally in the fresh plum and which also help keep the digestive track humming along. You might have seen PlumSmart juice in your grocery, which is new from SunSweet, and is plum juice enhanced with dextrin, a prebiotic fiber which works as a teammate along with probiotics such as found in yogurt to increase the beneficial cultures in the digestive tract.
2. Whole-wheat tortillas: contain insoluble fiber which acts like Roto-Rooter to keep everything running smoothly. This same insoluble fiber is found in whole grains including whole wheat pasta and bread, brown rice and fruits and vegetables.
3. Melon: a diuretic fruit due to its high water content.
4. Cucumbers and lettuces: also have a high water content and act as diuretics to release some of the retained fluids.
5. Avocado: when you consume too much sodium, fluid retention can be an issue. The mineral potassium has the opposite effect helping to shed the fluid. An added bonus is the positive effect of potassium-rich foods on helping to lower blood pressure.

Margit Ragland, Senior Editor from Family Circle magazine joins me on the podcast this week. In addition to no-bloat foods, we dish on how to make Fruit and Cheese Bites, sweet yet spicy tiny cheese balls that include a touch of hot sauce to give a slight kick to the cheese along with the sweetness of dried pineapple and apricots. These Fruit and Cheese Bites are speedy to make when friends are dropping by unexpectedly. You can find this recipe and many others at the Nutrition & Health Center on WDBO.com.

Listen to this week’s podcast