You know those time-crunched mornings when you're starving, and an Egg McMuffin seems like the only fast-enough solution? But you also know it's a 300-calorie, 12-grams-of-fat diet detour? Well, turns out there actually are fast-food ways to start the day that won't wreck your waistline.

Check out these choices that’ll tame your appetite (with extra protein), curb afternoon cravings (with a hit of fiber), and even help you concentrate (that protein-fiber combo supplies the brain with a steady stream of energy).

McDonald's
Mickey D’s offers a couple of options with enough fiber and protein to fill you up and keep you going:

· Fruit ‘n' Yogurt Parfait with Granola
160 calories, 2 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 85 milligrams sodium, 31grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 21 grams sugar, 4 grams protein

· Snack Size Fruit and Walnut Salad
210 calories, 8 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 60 milligrams sodium, 31  grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 25 grams sugar, 4 grams protein

Starbucks
You'll find two good, high-flavor choices here:

· Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta, and Egg Wrap -- it's a little high in fat but compensates with lots of fiber and protein.
240 calories, 10 grams fat (3.5 grams saturated), 140 milligrams cholesterol, 730 milligrams sodium, 29 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams fiber, 3 grams sugar, 13 grams protein

· Skinny Latte and a package of SB's dried fruit and nut mix. The latte's made with nonfat milk and a shot of sugar-free syrup. (Try the caramel or hazelnut. Yum!)
Latte (12-ounce "tall"): 90 calories, 0 grams fat (0 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 125 milligrams sodium, 14 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber,12 grams sugar, 0 grams protein

Fruit/nut packet: 150 calories, 9 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 100 milligrams sodium, 17 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams sugar, 4 grams protein

Jamba Juice
Two groups of smoothies will be your wake-up call as long as you add a soy-protein booster. For just 30 more calories, you'll get an extra 7 grams of tummy-taming, brain-fueling protein.

· Any 16-ounce "Jamba Light" smoothie -- choose from berry, mango, or strawberry.
150–160 calories, 0–0.5 grams fat (0 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 210–220 milligrams sodium, 30–34 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 23–30 grams sugar, 6 grams protein 

· Any 16-ounce "All Fruit" smoothie -- choose from mango, pomegranate, strawberry, or peach.
200–220 calories, 0–0.5 grams fat (0 grams saturated), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 5–20 milligrams sodium, 50–57 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 40–50 grams sugar, 1–2 grams protein 

Dunkin' Donuts
Make this your last resort, but if it's really your only choice, go for:

· Egg and Cheese English Muffin Sandwich
280 calories, 9 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated), 140 milligrams cholesterol, 1010 milligrams sodium (yikes -- that's why it's your last resort), 34 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams sugar, 15 grams protein

Burger King
Keep on driving! BK is behind on banning risky trans fats, and we recommend avoiding it until the place smartens up.

Is breakfast really worth the bother? You bet. Not only does eating it help keep you slimmer and smarter, but skipping it can make your RealAge as much as 3 years older as well. So it's definitely worth knowing your best A.M. road-food options. 

Get quick, healthy breakfast ideas you can prepare at home.

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When temperatures start rising, there’s no more refreshing meal than a crisp, fresh salad. But as it turns out, not all veggies are created equal. Sure, they’re all good for you, but some -- five in particular -- are extra good, with antioxidant levels that are out of this world! Toss a handful of these superstar veggies into a salad bowl and you'll instantly up your defenses against everything from wrinkles to heart disease -- and help make your RealAge younger. Just season with some olive oil, vinegar, and a few of the herbs and spices below and you'll punch up the antioxidant power even more. Health food doesn't get any easy-breezier!

Five Superstar Veggies
Artichokes
Radishes
Broccoli
Red chicory
Leeks

Seven Stellar Seasonings
Sage
Rosemary
Marjoram
Thyme
Tarragon
Cumin
Ginger
Garlic

The Very Best Veggie
Of the 27 vegetables that scientists have studied, the almighty artichoke, rich in both fiber and folate, leads the antioxidant pack. Look for plump but compact globelike artichokes with thick, green, fresh-looking scales.

The Runners-Up
You’ll find radishes, broccoli, and even luscious leeks at most supermarkets. But what about red chicory? An Italian salad favorite with an oddly appealing bitter taste, red chicory is also called radicchio. It’s becoming more widely available, so keep an eye out for its purpley-red leaves. Once you get it home, try mixing it with romaine.

High-Powered Herbs and Spices
Sage, rosemary, and thyme . . . when Simon and Garfunkel made them famous, nobody knew these herbs had disease-fighting powers -- but they do. And cumin, a spice used heavily in Indian food, is even more impressive, as is ginger. Truth: All of these seasonings can boost the healthfulness and flavor factor of any salad (soups, too). Here's a recipe to get you started:

Cool-Beans Artichoke Salad
This elegant mix is both light and filling -- perfect to serve to a few friends on a sultry night.

Serves 4

10 baby artichokes (outer leaves removed), quartered
2 cups diagonally cut asparagus
1/3 cup thinly sliced radishes
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 19-oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 large romaine leaves 

1. Steam the artichokes for 8 minutes. Add the asparagus and steam about 2 minutes more, or until tender but still crisp. Drain and run vegetables under cold water. Let cool.

2. To make the dressing, whisk together garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3. Combine radishes, onions, and beans in a salad bowl with half of the dressing and toss well. Gently stir in artichokes and asparagus.

4. To serve, place two romaine leaves on four plates. Divide salad equally among plates, and drizzle with remaining dressing.

Want to spice up your health some more? Find out how.

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Top skin creams average about $400 per ounce (and you thought gas was expensive!), yet most offer little proof that they do half of what they promise. Want to save a bundle and improve your skin? Load your shopping cart with nutrients that have been shown to possess skin-hydrating, sun-protecting, and even wrinkle-preventing powers, says Manhattan dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD. Here’s her grocery list of the best foods for your skin:

Firm and Bright
You’re probably up to your eyebrows (Botoxed or not) with the mantra “eat more fruits and vegetables.” But if you’ve yet to take that advice to heart, maybe knowing that they prevent wrinkles will do the trick.

The skin doc’s three top picks: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and cantaloupe.

What they do: Replenish your skin’s supply of antioxidants, so they're ready to scarf up free radicals whenever they make an appearance. Free rads are highly reactive oxygen molecules that damage cells and contribute to just about everything that can go wrong with skin, from dryness to wrinkles.

Fresh and Juicy
Your body can’t store much wrinkle-fighting vitamin C, so you need to top up your supplies regularly. The easiest way: Have some citrus every day.

The skin doc’s four top picks: oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit.

Ounce for ounce, oranges are the top citrus source of C, but you can only eat so many, right? For variety, make lemonade; squeeze limes on melon; add grapefruit to salad; and, instead of drinking soda, fizz OJ with sparkling water. It all adds up.

What they do: Keep skin’s vitamin C levels high. While C is a nifty antioxidant, that’s not the key reason it’s here. It helps keep collagen -- the supportive protein fibers that stop skin from sagging -- strong and resilient. (Flimsy collagen means lines and wrinkles.) Since collagen breakdown really picks up in your mid-30s, eat citrus early and often to head off aging.

Smoothing and Soothing
There’s a particularly potent antioxidant known as EGCG that does all kinds of good things for skin. The best place to find it? True teas: black, green, or white (not herbal). Brew a full teapot every morning so that sipping 4 to 6 cups throughout the day is a no-brainer.

The skin doc’s #1 pick::green tea.

While all true teas contain EGCG (by the way, that stands for epigallocatechin-3-gallate), the various types of green tea have the most. Dr. Wechsler’s personal favorite is hojicha green tea (available at http://www.adagio.com/). “The roasting process that turns this green tea a brownish color also lowers its caffeine content,” she says -- handy if you’re caffeine sensitive or it’s one of those days when you don’t need another stimulant.

What it does: Gives your skin a healthy dose of EGCG, which is a great multitasker. EGCG puts a damper on inflammatory chemicals involved in acne and sun-related skin aging, it helps prevent skin cancer; and it has a lion-tamer effect on tumor cells. What’s more, green tea contains L-theanine, a de-tensing amino acid -- and anything you can do to stanch the flow of the stress hormone cortisol helps keep collagen fibers intact.

Dark and Green
Certain dark green vegetables, whether they’re fresh, frozen, raw, or steamed, really deliver on vitamin A, one of the most skin-essential vitamins going.

The skin doc’s three top picks: spinach, turnip greens, and broccoli.

What they do:Deliver a hefty supply of vitamin A, which supports skin-cell turnover, the process that keeps cell growth and development humming along flawlessly. Without enough A, skin becomes dry, tough, and scaly.

Fish Faves
Several cold-water catches give your skin a double benefit: age-fighting omega-3 fatty acids and the restorative powers of protein.

The skin doc’s seven top picks: salmon, trout, tuna, sardines, Atlantic mackerel, Pacific herring, and most shellfish.

Just don’t, uh, go overboard. As good as omega-3s are for skin (and the rest of you, too), worries about the amount of mercury in many fish mean it’s smart to limit seafood or freshwater fish to two meals a week. That’s a must for young children and for women who are pregnant, who may become pregnant, or who are nursing. (Go here for the government’s fish guidelines)

What they do: Omega-3s fight inflammation, now considered one of the top skin agers, and they also help protect against sunburn, enhancing the effects of your sunscreen’s SPF. Protein is required to build and repair skin cells and to make enzymes and hormones that help keep it glowing.

Fill your grocery cart with all of these foods and you won’t just look younger, you’ll be younger. Eating at least one serving of fish a week and getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements lowers your biological age. In fact, the antioxidants alone can make your RealAge up to 6 years younger.

For more ways to look years younger, take the RealAge Skin Care Assessment.

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Ever wish there were a happy pill to spritz up your spirits when you're out of sorts? To make you laugh when you're feeling down? Or to calm your nerves when you're about to bite someone's head off? Well, get this: There are several things in your kitchen that might just do the trick, and they taste a lot better than any pill.

A Little Dessert: Sugar soothes us when we're stressed -- or at least it soothes stressed-out rats -- which are remarkably good models for stress in people. But before you race to the vending machine with a license to binge, know that while a little sugar may soothe rattled nerves, too much will re-rattle them by causing havoc with your blood sugar. Here are some treats that’ll give you just enough: 

· A small slice of angel food cake with 1/2 cup of strawberries
· 2 Fig Newman cookies and a 6-ounce glass of juice
· Fast Fruit-and-Chocolate Fondue:

     o 1 cup fresh strawberries
     o 1 peeled, sliced kiwi
     o 1/4 cup fat-free chocolate syrup

     Dunk fruit into syrup, lean back, and smile!

Toast and Jam: "Carbs raise levels of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, which lifts our spirits," says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of Food & Mood. That’s why we crave bread and other carbohydrates when we're down. Opt for whole-wheat bread and other whole-grain carbs, because they also help stabilize blood sugar levels -- unlike refined grains (white bread, pasta, rice), which send blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride, leaving you jittery, grumpy, and hungry. Get a happy serotonin boost from these snacks:

· Half a toasted whole-wheat English muffin or bagel with jam or honey
· A small bowl of oatmeal with some dried cranberries and a bit of brown sugar
· A comforting, creamy open-faced peach sandwich:

     o 2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
     o 1 teaspoon honey
     o 1 peach, peeled and chopped
     o 1 slice 100% whole-grain bread
     o 1/2 teaspoon chopped walnuts
     o 2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
     o 1 teaspoon honey
     o 1 peach, peeled and chopped
     o 1 slice 100% whole-grain bread
     o 1/2 teaspoon chopped walnuts

Blend cheese, honey, and chopped peaches; spread mixture on bread, and sprinkle with nuts. Yum!

Yogurt and Eggs: Numerous studies show that getting more of the omega-3 fatty acid called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in your diet may boost your mood and your brainpower. Even people battling tough-to-treat depression may feel as much as 50% better when they get lots of DHA. To keep your chin cheerfully up, aim for 200 milligrams (mg) of DHA a day. Mix and match DHA-fortified foods like these:

· 1 container Rachel's Wickedly Delicious Yogurt (32 mg of DHA)
· 1 Gold Circle Farm egg (150 mg)
· 1 Oh Mama nutrition bar (115 mg)
· 1 cup of Horizon Organic reduced-fat milk plus DHA (32 mg)
· 18-ounce Odwalla Soy Smart drink (32 mg)

Popeye's Fave: No wonder he was always in such a high-energy mood. Spinach is full of folate, a B vitamin that's a must for making feel-good serotonin. Like DHA, folate may help ease depression, according to researchers. So if you're trying to stay on the sunny side of life, make chowing down Popeye-style a habit. To get plenty of this happy green, (about 2 cups of cooked spinach) try these tasty tips:

· Add a 10-ounce packet of frozen chopped spinach to soups, stews, and casseroles, homemade or not.
· Use spinach instead of lettuce in sandwiches and wraps.
· Whip steamed chopped spinach into mashed potatoes.
· Make a meal of it: Pile your plate high with fresh baby spinach leaves, and top it off with a grilled chicken breast or broiled salmon fillet (another great source of  DHA).

Black Bean Dip: Black beans, like most legumes, are a nifty source of iron. And if you're low on iron -- as many active women are -- you may have trouble sleeping, or you might feel constantly tired, both of which can turn you into a major grouch. Here's how to help keep your iron levels -- and your mood -- up:

· Mix black beans with chopped spinach, roasted red peppers, and salsa as a dip for a toasted whole-wheat tortilla.
· Heat black beans with onions, garlic, and cumin and serve over brown rice.
· Toss black beans and turkey cubes into a salad (the heme iron in poultry and meat helps you absorb more of the nonheme iron in beans).
· Add black beans to chili and soups.

Two quick tips: To help your body absorb optimal amounts of iron, combine iron-rich foods with foods that are high in vitamin C -- like tomatoes, broccoli, red peppers, and OJ. But don't wash them down with coffee, tea, or milk; all three can block iron absorption.

Happy foods have another big, big payoff besides brightening your outlook on life: Taking care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge up to 16 (!) years younger.

Get more secrets on how to live a happy, healthy life.

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Myth 1: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Actually: It's just the opposite. Starchy vegetables and bread (whole-grain bread, that is) are quality carbs needed to fuel every part of you, from your brain to your muscles. What gets you into trouble is how you eat them: Smear butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or deep-fry potatoes and you can double, triple, or quadruple the calories.

Myth 2: Drinking a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite.
Actually: Yes and no. Water tames appetite if it's incorporated into food, such as soup, or a thick drink, like V8 100% Vegetable Juice. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower, explains Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. That's why women in one study found chicken-rice soup more satisfying than chicken-rice casserole and a glass of water -- even though the soup had 27% fewer calories! One exception to this rule: It's easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something -- but what? -- drink a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that's what your body really wanted.

Myth 3: Shellfish is high in cholesterol.
Actually: On the one hand, it's true: Just 3 ounces of shrimp delivers more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there's a surprising flip side to this story: Shrimp is low in saturated fat -- the kind that becomes artery-clogging bad cholesterol -- and has a smidgen of heart-healthy omega-3s. In fact, University of Southern California researchers discovered that eating shellfish, such as shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59 percent!

Myth 4: The occasional burger and fries won't kill you.
Actually: It depends on your definition of “occasional.” If occasional means every Friday night and then some, well,  you may be pushing it. But if it means every few months, and you're fit, and you've got good numbers (i.e., weight, waist size, cholesterol, blood pressure), AND you're chowing down on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare most other days, hey, you'll live. But few of us are that perfect. If you do occasionally indulge, offset the effects of a fat fiesta with a brisk 90-minute walk afterward.

Myth 5: Women naturally gain weight after menopause.
Actually: While you can blame a lot of things on hormones (everything from acne to PMS), in this case, slowing down physically is far more likely the cause. Study after study has found that older women who exercise regularly and vigorously can maintain their figures.

Myth 6: Diet soda is worse than the real thing.
Actually: We all would be better off switching to water, diluted fruit juice, and green tea rather than drinking soda -- diet or regular. Both types increase kidney and heart disease risk, plus they contain acids that erode tooth enamel, inviting cavities.

Final Fact (this one's no myth): Maintaining your weight, waist, and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

In the mood for more weight-loss trivia? Take a stab at our Fat Facts Fun Quiz.

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