So...in my effort to get the whole house cleaned yesterday I had to skip out on other things and the FITness blog was one of them.
This morning I woke up at 5:30AM to head on over to the pool to swim some laps. I checked the weather before I left, just because. It said 81 degrees and an ozone health warning was in effect. I opted to change back out of my swimsuit and jump back into bed and read in peace and quiet as working out in filth is not exactly a good idea. It worked until I fell back asleep. RATS!!! I don't like it when that happens.
Ever have those mornings when you have great intentions and plans only to get swept away into other things? Here's what I did and you could try it to:
I had plans with my kids to go to the summer movie. So I don't shower, throw on something that will look like I tried to put myself together, and come home and go straight into the workout clothes with a workout routine already in mind. Still get in a great workout and not throwing in the towel because it didn't work out the first time.
Find something that works for you if the first attempt and getting in a good workout fails. Maybe it won't happen until 9PM, the point is, make the time and there will be the time.
On to the article: Seriously disgusting sounding food. Watch out for those things when you are on the road this summer! Take along some healthy homemade car snacks like granola or applesauce muffins. Nuts and a big bottle of water are also good options...better than the gas station stops!
Showing posts with label Nutrition Links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nutrition Links. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Motivation Monday
Motivation Monday is all about getting you motivated to eat more fruits and vegetables.
The articles link above is chalk full of wonderful ways to get your recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day. The article contains a chart with the recommendation based on age. For my age I need 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day.
I think I do pretty well when they defined one piece of fruit as 1 cup. I eat 1-2 bananas a day and sometimes an apple on top of that. Strawberries and grapes are a plenty at our house and are "eat what you want when you want" type of deal. It's great because the girls reach into the fridge, pull out the grapes they want and eat away. It makes an easy side to lunch/dinner/and a great snack.
In the veggie area I try to have at least 1/2 a cup with each dinner, cut up cucumber at lunch to eat, add green peppers to dinner or cut up zucchini. Last night I grilled up some zucchini and enjoyed about a cup of that. I eat celery with PB for snack and add lettuce to sandwiches or make a little salad to go with dinner or lunch.
Visit a Farmer's Market or your local produce store that you love and buy what you eat in a week so nothing goes bad. Cut it up, wash it, store it properly and you will find that getting your fruits and vegetables in everyday can be a breeze. It is definitely a way of life and takes some time to get in the habit of it.
An example of my routine: Every Wednesday is double ad day at Sprouts. It's a great day to go to get last weeks deals and the new deals. I can load up my cart with a head of lettus or two, cucumbers, zucchini, bananas, grapes, oranges, strawberries, and whatever else I think we will need for a full week for a family of 4. When I get home I immediately wash everything and store it properly so it lasts. Sometimes I freeze it in small portions to pull out when needed. (Strawberries for smoothies is a good example of this. I go to a different produce store when time permits and buy 3 lbs. of strawberries for $1. I freeze 2 lbs. and the family eats the other lb. in the next few days.) Celery is washed, cut, and stored in a container for easy snacks and chopping for dinners. Grapes are taken off the stems, washed, and stored in an open zip-lock bag. Lettuce/spinach is washed, spun/dried, and stored wrapped in paper towels in an open ziplock bag to keep it crisp.
GOAL: GET IN YOUR RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES EACH DAY. NOTICE HOW GREAT YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF WHEN YOU DO THIS.
The articles link above is chalk full of wonderful ways to get your recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day. The article contains a chart with the recommendation based on age. For my age I need 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day.
I think I do pretty well when they defined one piece of fruit as 1 cup. I eat 1-2 bananas a day and sometimes an apple on top of that. Strawberries and grapes are a plenty at our house and are "eat what you want when you want" type of deal. It's great because the girls reach into the fridge, pull out the grapes they want and eat away. It makes an easy side to lunch/dinner/and a great snack.
In the veggie area I try to have at least 1/2 a cup with each dinner, cut up cucumber at lunch to eat, add green peppers to dinner or cut up zucchini. Last night I grilled up some zucchini and enjoyed about a cup of that. I eat celery with PB for snack and add lettuce to sandwiches or make a little salad to go with dinner or lunch.
Visit a Farmer's Market or your local produce store that you love and buy what you eat in a week so nothing goes bad. Cut it up, wash it, store it properly and you will find that getting your fruits and vegetables in everyday can be a breeze. It is definitely a way of life and takes some time to get in the habit of it.
An example of my routine: Every Wednesday is double ad day at Sprouts. It's a great day to go to get last weeks deals and the new deals. I can load up my cart with a head of lettus or two, cucumbers, zucchini, bananas, grapes, oranges, strawberries, and whatever else I think we will need for a full week for a family of 4. When I get home I immediately wash everything and store it properly so it lasts. Sometimes I freeze it in small portions to pull out when needed. (Strawberries for smoothies is a good example of this. I go to a different produce store when time permits and buy 3 lbs. of strawberries for $1. I freeze 2 lbs. and the family eats the other lb. in the next few days.) Celery is washed, cut, and stored in a container for easy snacks and chopping for dinners. Grapes are taken off the stems, washed, and stored in an open zip-lock bag. Lettuce/spinach is washed, spun/dried, and stored wrapped in paper towels in an open ziplock bag to keep it crisp.
GOAL: GET IN YOUR RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES EACH DAY. NOTICE HOW GREAT YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF WHEN YOU DO THIS.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Create-A-Smoothie
It's going to be getting hotter outside. Breakfast smoothies will be a perfect start to your day. Some smoothies can be upwards of 400 calories. That's way too much.
Here's the anatomy of a smoothie (thanks to fitnessmagazine.com March 2010) to help you decide how to construct your smoothie goodness.
BASE
1 cup low-fat milk (118) calories
1 cup chopped or frozen fruit (53-84 calories)
GOOD STUFF
1/2 cup sherbet (107 calories)
1/2 cup plain low-fat frozen yogurt (110 calories)
1 tablespoon honey (64 calories)
EXTRAS
1 to 2 scoops soy or whey protein powder (120 to 240 calories)
2 tablespoons peanut butter (188 calories)
These are for 20 oz. smoothies. Mix and match your smoothie for different variations, but stay within 250 calories for good breakfast in the morning.
Here's the anatomy of a smoothie (thanks to fitnessmagazine.com March 2010) to help you decide how to construct your smoothie goodness.
BASE
1 cup low-fat milk (118) calories
1 cup chopped or frozen fruit (53-84 calories)
GOOD STUFF
1/2 cup sherbet (107 calories)
1/2 cup plain low-fat frozen yogurt (110 calories)
1 tablespoon honey (64 calories)
EXTRAS
1 to 2 scoops soy or whey protein powder (120 to 240 calories)
2 tablespoons peanut butter (188 calories)
These are for 20 oz. smoothies. Mix and match your smoothie for different variations, but stay within 250 calories for good breakfast in the morning.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Live the Life
Today my subject to blog on is Living the Life you want to live.
My husband and I were talking last night and he told me, "I just feel like I'm falling apart physically. They say when you reach 30 things seem to go downhill. They're not kidding. I thought it would be gradual, not like a bus hit you!" (I added some of those words myself, but that is basically what he told me.) In response I said, "Well I turn 30 this year, I hope that doesn't happen to me!"
The truth is, I don't think it will happen to me because I do pay careful attention to my diet and exercise. I make sure to FIT both of those things in on a daily basis. It is a lifestyle for me and I'm living that life I want to live.
On this Giveaway website they are offering a 12-Week program from Live the Life.
Live the Life has a free trial offer for 1 week. Click here to sign up.
I am not recommending every diet site I can find. I do not believe in diet pills or anything that suggests losing an extreme amount of weight in a day or week. (Have you read about any of that stuff here? Didn't think so, because it DOESN'T WORK!)
I am for eating healthy and exercising. That is the one true way to lose weight, get FIT, and have the energy you want to have. Off the soapbox...
Live the Life will give you a menu for the day and an exercise routine for the day. I am not advocating signing up for the full 12-week program, but try it out for a week. See the difference and pay attention to the way you feel. I've watched the videos they put out and I agree with their 7 ways to increase metabolism.
You can enter the giveaway to try for a 12 week program and sign up for the free 7-day program.
Who knows, you might be hooked on eating healthy and exercising.
Looking and feeling great is not a quick thing, it takes time, but it does happen!
My husband and I were talking last night and he told me, "I just feel like I'm falling apart physically. They say when you reach 30 things seem to go downhill. They're not kidding. I thought it would be gradual, not like a bus hit you!" (I added some of those words myself, but that is basically what he told me.) In response I said, "Well I turn 30 this year, I hope that doesn't happen to me!"
The truth is, I don't think it will happen to me because I do pay careful attention to my diet and exercise. I make sure to FIT both of those things in on a daily basis. It is a lifestyle for me and I'm living that life I want to live.
On this Giveaway website they are offering a 12-Week program from Live the Life.
Live the Life has a free trial offer for 1 week. Click here to sign up.
I am not recommending every diet site I can find. I do not believe in diet pills or anything that suggests losing an extreme amount of weight in a day or week. (Have you read about any of that stuff here? Didn't think so, because it DOESN'T WORK!)
I am for eating healthy and exercising. That is the one true way to lose weight, get FIT, and have the energy you want to have. Off the soapbox...
Live the Life will give you a menu for the day and an exercise routine for the day. I am not advocating signing up for the full 12-week program, but try it out for a week. See the difference and pay attention to the way you feel. I've watched the videos they put out and I agree with their 7 ways to increase metabolism.
You can enter the giveaway to try for a 12 week program and sign up for the free 7-day program.
Who knows, you might be hooked on eating healthy and exercising.
Looking and feeling great is not a quick thing, it takes time, but it does happen!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Seriously GOOD!
A while ago I went out and purchased (well, sort of, I got them free after using coupons on the sale!) the new Yoplait Smoothies. I got a couple Strawberry Banana and a couple Triple Berry.
I've waited WAY too long to try these, but I was waiting for my husband to join me in the taste test.
Today was the day and the verdict: SERIOUSLY GOOD! It tasted like a dream. You can taste the little frozen yogurt pieces and the real fruit was perfectly scrumptious.
Each serving has just 70 Calories, 1.5g of fat, 14g of carbohydrates, and 2g of protein. Each package contains 2 servings. We split ours up 4 ways this morning because each of the kids wanted to try some too. They drank it right down and loved it as well.
Print coupons here to go out and get your Yoplait Smoothies today! The coupon is $1.25 off one and you can print 2 coupons. They expire 6/25/2010 so you have a little while to use them.
After you try them, come back here and let me know what you think and what your favorite flavor was. There is also a Mango flavor, but my store did not have it when I went there.
GOAL FOR THE WEEKEND: If you have good weather spend your time outdoors this weekend. Take a brisk walk with hand weights, go for a bike ride, go for a swim (brrr still for me!), go hiking, jumprope, hoola hoop. Whatever you do involve family and friends and stay motivated to keep moving throughout the weekend!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Salt: To shake or not to shake?
My husband is the King of adding salt to everything...EVERYTHING...even before tasting it. I didn't grow up that way and I like my green beans without anything on them. I like their natural flavor. Call me crazy, I love just about any veggie in it's natural or steamed state.
I'm always on his case about how he needs to reduce his salt intake especially because he does eat out a lot with the job he is employed. I keep telling him he's going to have high blood pressure and he keeps telling me that he doesn't want a goiter. He spent a couple of years in the Phillipines and has seen a goiter or two in his days...I don't want one either. The iodine in our salt helps prevent goiters, but it's his favorite excuse.
So yesterday he sent me an article he found in USA Today all about salt and what is trying to be done to lower salt amounts in food. Click here to read or skim over it.
My stance on salt is the same, less is better. I'm pretty sure my husband's stance is still the same as well, salt it without trying it.
I'm always on his case about how he needs to reduce his salt intake especially because he does eat out a lot with the job he is employed. I keep telling him he's going to have high blood pressure and he keeps telling me that he doesn't want a goiter. He spent a couple of years in the Phillipines and has seen a goiter or two in his days...I don't want one either. The iodine in our salt helps prevent goiters, but it's his favorite excuse.
So yesterday he sent me an article he found in USA Today all about salt and what is trying to be done to lower salt amounts in food. Click here to read or skim over it.
My stance on salt is the same, less is better. I'm pretty sure my husband's stance is still the same as well, salt it without trying it.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Ingredient Substitutions
If you are anything like me, I am always trying to find a healthier way to bake or cook. If it's not healthy, I don't buy it. That means no store-bought cookies, donuts, chips, some crackers (gotta have goldfish for my kiddos!), or juices with high fructose corn syrup in them. It's has made shopping great with kids, they may not even know you can buy cookies from a grocery store, so there is no asking! Instead they ask for apples, bananas, strawberries, and other items found in the produce section.
When a recipe calls for shortening I have found that replacing it with honey or all natural applesauce is just as effective.
Replacing all white flour with 100% whole wheat flour using 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat is a great way to add in those nutrients without drastically changing the taste.
This replacement will probably not work for all recipes, but I have substituted non-fat sour cream for mayonaisse. It was a recipe for a pasta salad and I thought it tasted great.
Everything I buy is low-fat or non-fat. I'm no cook so I can't really taste the difference anyway. However, when I eat out at restaurants I can taste when shortening, too much butter, or salt has been used. The worst is the corn syrup taste in my mouth, YUCK! After you've eaten this way for so long, your body really does recognize the difference in taste and the effects it has on it.
One last replacement I have made is switching to whole grain pasta. My husband says he can tell the difference, but he eats it anyway. The rule in our house is I make it, you eat it, or you don't eat at all. It's a good way to introduce new foods into your family and even if they say they don't like them, they might end up liking them at some point!
Happy replacing!
Goal: Try to get rid of or donate all those items in your house you know are not good for you. Then start shopping for those items that will make even a little difference in your diet.
On the Mayo Clinic website they have a good list of substitutions. Click here to be taken there.
When a recipe calls for shortening I have found that replacing it with honey or all natural applesauce is just as effective.
Replacing all white flour with 100% whole wheat flour using 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat is a great way to add in those nutrients without drastically changing the taste.
This replacement will probably not work for all recipes, but I have substituted non-fat sour cream for mayonaisse. It was a recipe for a pasta salad and I thought it tasted great.
Everything I buy is low-fat or non-fat. I'm no cook so I can't really taste the difference anyway. However, when I eat out at restaurants I can taste when shortening, too much butter, or salt has been used. The worst is the corn syrup taste in my mouth, YUCK! After you've eaten this way for so long, your body really does recognize the difference in taste and the effects it has on it.
One last replacement I have made is switching to whole grain pasta. My husband says he can tell the difference, but he eats it anyway. The rule in our house is I make it, you eat it, or you don't eat at all. It's a good way to introduce new foods into your family and even if they say they don't like them, they might end up liking them at some point!
Happy replacing!
Goal: Try to get rid of or donate all those items in your house you know are not good for you. Then start shopping for those items that will make even a little difference in your diet.
On the Mayo Clinic website they have a good list of substitutions. Click here to be taken there.
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