Whether or not you’ve been duped by Nutella’s marketing team, it’s not the only option out there when it comes to delicious spreads for toast or bagels.

1. Almond butter

Instead of a PB&J, try an AB&J. Almonds are an extremely rich source of vitamin E, a potent antioxidant that helps defend your cells from all the pollutants that your body is constantly bombarbed by. Almonds can even help guard against heart attacks.

2. Pumpkin seed butter

Celebrate Halloween all year! Pumpkin seed butter may sound a little strange and spooky, but it’s delicious and a very high source of omega-9 and omega-6 fats, as well as vitamin K. Plus, pumpkin seed butter is okay for people who suffer from nut allergies.

3. Hazelnut butter

Nutella brags about its hazelnut content, but these nuts actually make up a relatively low proportion of the product. Try making your own chocolate hazelnut spread at home by combining a cup of hazelnut butter with a tablespoon of cocoa powder and a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract. Hazelnuts are high in vitamin B6 and healthy unsaturated fats.

4. Pistachio butter

Are you struggling with cholesterol problems? In various studies, pistacios have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol numbers. Try pistachio butter for a nutty, rich alternative to standard nut butters.

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

Most dryer sheet products contain numerous fabric softeners and chemical fragrances, such as linalool and ethyl acetate, that may have potentially toxic effects on your health. Instead of tossing a traditional dryer sheet into your laundry, consider tossing it out in favor of a more natural alternative.

Enter Caldrea‘s basil blue sage dryer sheets. These sheets have all the positive benefits of a traditional dryer sheet, such as the ability to soften your clothes and reduce static, but without the harmful side effects. A glance at the ingredients label reveals six simple substances, including a plant-based softening agent and essential oils from rosemary, sage and basil.

Plus, the sheets are biodegradable.

With the right changes, your salad can be a nutrition powerhouse rich in minerals, phytonutrients and fiber.

Popular folklore dates the invention of the humble Caesar salad to the early 1920s. Approximately 90 years later, it’s time for you to move beyond this salad bar staple. Swap out the romaine lettuce for some exotic greens, throw in a few out-of-the-norm toppings — croutons are the definition of salad drudgery — and show the vegetable world who’s boss.

Start with anything but lettuce. There’s nothing wrong with lettuce, which can be a rich source of vitamins — two cups of romaine lettuce provides more than 150% of your RDA for vitamin A — and fiber. But non-traditional greens can add yet another layer of flavor complexities and nutrients. For example, you could try:

• Spinach, which is high in calcium
• Shepherd’s purse, a member of the cruciferous family that’s high in carotenoids and glucosinolates
• Purslane, a source of more healthy omega-3 fats compared to every other leafy vegetable
• Dandelion greens, which are endorsed by French chefs for their unique flavor but also boast high levels of electrolytes like potassium

Add some heavy proteins. This, combined with the fiber in the greens, turns your salad into a legit meal that keeps you feeling full and happy for a long time. For carnivores, choose lean meats such as tuna, sirloin steak or chicken breasts. For plant lovers, try dicing up some marinated tofu or adding a can or two of your favorite beans.

Toss out those fancy and fattening bottled salad dressings. A single two tablespoon serving of your average ranch dressing can often net you 300 to 500 calories — and many people douse their salads with more than just a couple tablespoons. Instead, mix a lightweight homemade dressing using healthy ingredients like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard or lemon juice, and herbs such as oregano, pepper and basil. Too much trouble? A second-best option: Lighten your commercial salad dressing by blending the dressing with an equal amount of olive oil.

Add color — as much as you can manage. Chase a rainbow of colors harder than a unicorn at a rave. In general, foods that are colorful are richer in phytonutrients that have a litany of health benefits, such as fighting cancer. Example options include yellow bell peppers, red onions, radishes and beets.

Go nutty. Nuts add crunch and new textures to your salad while also boosting its fiber and protein quotient. Even better, nuts are a top source of heart-healthy fatty acids. For even more flavors, roast them before tossing them into your salad.

Sprinkle on the seeds. Hemp seeds and flax seeds are optimal sources of protein, add a  layer of visual interest and also increase your intake of fiber and omega-3s.

1. Run away, literally. New research presented at the Association for Science Education Conference in December 2011 found that regular moderate exercise, such as running or swimming, boosts the immune cells in your body responsible for fighting upper respiratory tract infections, such as the flu, cold and sinusitis. Overall, researchers noted that your infection risks could be cut by approximately 30 percent!

2. Stay hydrated. Dry mucous tissues are more receptive to the cold virus, so stay hydrated by drinking lots of water. Better yet, try eating some watermelon. A single cup of this fruit has 20.5 percent of your vitamin C requirements, and also boasts lots of glutathione — an antioxidant found in the red flesh that may help your immune system fight cold and flu infections.

3. Kill stress to kill germs. Here’s another reason to dislike that boss who screams at you: Physical stress and social stress have both been shown in medical studies to suppress immune functioning as well as reduce the body’s speed at producing antibodies. Practice regular de-stressing exercises, such as meditation, deep breathing, writing in a journal and practicing yoga.

4. Sip and sleep if you end up with a cold or flu despite your best efforts. Getting lots of rest provides your body with time to repair and recuperate. Meanwhile, sipping chicken soup has been shown in several major studies to potentially help fight the cold and flu by affecting the way the body transports infection-fighting cells. For vegetarians and vegans out there, vegetable broth’s salt, heat and liquids can still help reduce some of the symptoms of sickness.

The cleansing products from So…Soap don’t just break down dirt and oil in your pores, but also break down the barriers to employment that many poor women in Hong Kong face. While there are a lot sustainable products out there that meet one or two social, political or environmental concerns (e.g., PETA-endorsed Method), this is the first soap I’ve seen that takes nearly everything into account. And I mean everything!

1. Communities: The manufacturer uses a community-based production scheme that recruits local women. The women are given a way to provide for their families while working flexible hours close to home. When you buy a bottle of So…Soap, your individual label will tell you what specific community helped to produce your product!
2. Ingredients: Every product is hand-made from completely natural, vegan  ingredients. You won’t find sodium laurel sulfate or any of the other common ingredients typically found in most hair and skin products.
3. Packaging: Each So…Soap product comes in a cute bottle. What consumers may not know is that the manufacturer paired up with two local organic soy milk producers to obtain used soy milk containers that are disinfected and reused as soap containers.

Discover more at SoSoap.com.

Don’t let the worries and busyness of the day pull you away from yourself. 

Staying “grounded” and being self-aware in every moment isn’t something reserved for monks or New Age gurus. As school, work, family and other daily obligations tug and pull at your strings, it’s easy to lose your sense of balance. This opens you up to increased stress and anxiety, often over things that truly don’t matter and issues that you can’t change or control. By learning to find the positive in every situation, and discovering how to release the worries of both the past and the future, you can function at a higher, happier level in the here-and-now. And you don’t even need to chant an om. No New Age BS required!

1. Recognize the positives.

Often, when things get away from us, all we see in our narrow field of vision are the negatives glaring back. Counter this by naming ten positive things in your life, counting them on the fingers of each hand. It might be hard once you hit fix or six items, but that’s the whole point. It will force you, even in the most stressful of situations, to dig deep and find something positive — sometimes, something so small that you overlooked it before.

2. Recognize that this is it.

When our minds wander from the present moment, we start working on autopilot. That’s when negative patterns, stresses and habits become ingrained. Steer yourself back to the moment by telling yourself, “This is it.” This. This moment right here. Not the past, which has no bearing on now. And not the potential things in the future that “could” go wrong, because the future doesn’t exist. In fact, the future will never exist, so why worry?

3. Recognize your emotions.

The final step — after becoming more aware of your positives and recognizing that this moment is all that counts — is recognizing your emotions. When you’re sad, angry, frustrated or feeling similar emotions, they often entrap our spirits and take on a life of their own. All of a sudden, you’re just angry. ANGRY! Beyond all rationale and thought. Instead, look at yourself. Ask, “What is going through my mind?” Then ask, “What emotions am I feeling?” There is a difference. The intellect is often aware of an actual primary stressor. Say, a late assignment in university. But your emotions are completely subjective. Learn to see that a situation may be unpleasant, but you have control over your response. Take a deep breathe, recognize that you may be facing a painful or stressful moment, but learn to greet and release those negative emotions.

What are your own ways to deal with stressful situations and moments that seem to just get away from you? Send me and the rest of the LIVE team a tweet at @LIVEhealthmag.

Smart phones are more common than Justin Bieber songs on the radio, and the iPhone is one of the most popular phones of them all. If you’ve got one of Steve Job’s babies in your pocket, take advantage of its mobile power with our four favorite health-friendly iPhone apps (which also work on the iPad).

HappyCow Restaurant Finder ($2.99 USD)

Your coworker is like, “Hey, wanna grab lunch?” And all of a sudden you’re scouring Yelp to find a place nearby that’s good. But if you’re like me, you then look up the restaurant’s menu to figure out if there is anything there that you can actually eat with a good conscious. Health-conscious restaurant lovers, rejoice! HappyCow’s mobile app lets you see all the nearby restaurants, and lets you filter them by health categories such as vegetarian or vegan.

Roaming Hunger (Free)

Food trucks are all the rage. But they are also impossibly hard to find when you’re hungry, and no one is especially nostalgic for the hunter-and-gatherer age. This iPhone app tracks more than 800 food trucks across the United States and tells you exactly where the truck is located at that moment. Even better, it also gives you menu details and sorting options, like searching for nearby vegetarian-friendly food trucks.

Go Vegan! ($6.99)

By now, most people have read or heard of Sarah Kramer’s How It All Vegan cookbook. This app is a condensed version; a mobile cookbook with recipes for everything from breakfast to dessert, plus video cooking tips. A bit pricey, apps-wise, but much cheaper than buying an actual cookbook. And now no one will look at you awkward when you try stuffing the full-sized cookbook in your pocket. Are you just happy to see me?

BnB ($2.99)

Be nice to bunnies! And other animals, too, with this app that helps you identify whether a product contains animal-based ingredients or has been tested on animals. You can search for specific product names or sort by company or product category, and it includes all common items like laundry detergent and shampoo.

Chapstick’s “Classic” formula has more than a dozen ingredients, including unpronouncables like “arachidyl propionate” and Iron Man-worthy dye names like “FD&C yellow no. 5 aluminum lake.”

Compare that to the lip balm from Sprout Skincare, which contains just four ingredients: cocoa butter, extra-virgin olive oil, beesewax and essential oils. Plus, it’s organic, fair trade and handmade in Hipsterland Brooklyn!

Even more, we love that it’s made by a tiny business headed up by Brooklyn entrepreneur Adina Grigore. “Our ingredients are safe enough to eat!” she tells Entrepreneur magazine.

Unfortunately, the lip balm doesn’t give any specific calorie information.

Because bar soap is more ubiquitous in your bathroom than a Kardashian on cable TV, it’s so very easy to take it for granted. But you probably shouldn’t. Most of the bar soap products on store shelves are pumped full of dyes, chemicals, artificial perfumes and other nasty stuff that, over time, can dry out and damage your skin. Hello, premature wrinkles!

While Dr. Bronner’s magic soap bars — no, really, they’re labeled “magic” — may first catch your eyes for their text-heavy, messy labeling, a second glance reveals just how awesome these soap bars are. The ingredient list boasts all-natural, organic and fair trade stuff like coconut oil and jojoba oil, while it also proudly displays PETA’s “Not Animal Tested” logo. Good for my skin, good for the bunny rabbits, good enough for me!

Plus, the numerous available scents, like citrus orange and lavender, are as refreshingly clean as the ingredients. Cruelty-free soap has never smelled or felt so good!

A woman with a dietary secret wins the world’s toughest marathon.

If you want to keep your self-esteem, click here. But if you wanted to start the new year off feeling woefully inadequate, keep reading.

You’ve probably heard about the Tough Mudder competitions that take place across the world, based on an obstacle course designed by the British Special Forces. These courses, which operate sort of like marathons in hell, involve things like flaming cars, live electric wires, barbed wire and underwater tunnels.

If you survive the regular competitions, you then get the honor to compete in the “Toughest Mudder” and be crowned the world’s reigning champion. In December, 42-year-old California resident Juliana Sproles finished the 24-hour race, essentially earning the right to name herself the world’s toughest, most hardcore woman.

But she didn’t celebrate the grueling race by chugging a whey protein shake. No, because Juliana Sproles is a vegan.

Those must be some special radioactive carrots or something. Read more on VegNews.