Halloween Trick or “Treat”? I Don’t Think So…!

Get this, according to the editors at “Best Life Magazine“, a typical jack o’ lantern bucket will hold approximately 250 small chocolate bars, OR about 9000 calories. Gulp!  I don’t consider that much of a treat, my friends.  So, what’s a parent to do?  Well, a couple years ago, I started handing out “tricks”–little toys and games versus the junk stuff.  There wasn’t too much of a difference in cost.  It works pretty well and many of the parents actually sighed in relief and smiled when they saw there was no candy distributed.

My son’s orthodontist has a great idea this year, as well. He is offering $2 per pound of candy turned in to him. He is giving $1 to charity and $1 back to the child who brought the candy in. He is sending the candy overseas to the soldiers.  Troops, charity, and kids’ dental health all in one swoop.  I think it’s a grand idea. It seems my kids have more fun obtaining the candy than actually eating it, anyway. I usually let my kids pick out a few to eat Halloween night and then add some to lunch boxes for the next week. But after that….bye, bye candy.

If you have to go the candy route, the folks at Best Life have come up with their suggestions for the Top 10 BEST (?) candies vs. the Worst 10:. My favorites, of course, are all on the “worst” list.

Check it out and good luck.

Happy Halloween!

Or so the saying goes…but I have to say I certainly agree!  This weekend I raced in a sprint triathlon with 6 other girlfriends. Some I work with, some I work out with, and some I just met.  Regardless, we entered this race with different aspirations and goals–to win, to place, to better our last time, to finish, to conquer and overcome….but most of all to have fun and celebrate life.  We met at Jayne Ann’s at 4:45 for last minute prep and our “before” shot. We were excited, anxious, tired (me…yawn) and ready to take on this experience.  We couldn’t have had better weather. The pool was comfortable–not too hot and not too cold.  The weather warmed up enough so that no additional layers were needed after the swim. The bike route was hilly and beautiful. And the run was off road, through some woods, on trails and along side a small lake.

You know the poem that talks about friends who come and go. Some are for a lifetime and some for a period of time. No matter how long, each brings a special gift.

My Saturday morning friends are amazing. One has a fear of water…and yet, that does not stop her from swimming several times a week and racing.  One of them has never run before, yet she put everything she had into this race, finished it and did fantastic. Another one I want to be like when I grown up. She runs a 6 minute mile and has a rock hard little bod.  Several of these ladies beat their best times and set personal records. Another one still looks like an amazing beauty after an hour and a half of strenuous racing!  These ladies are so motivating, so encouraging, so STRONG!

Here’s to a great weekend, a lot of fun, girlfriends who rock & more PRs!

It’s that time of the year again…and I have to tell you, I am READY!  Ready for a more normal schedule again. Earlier to bed, earlier to rise.  I love the summers, but as a single mom, it’s a more difficult juggle to stay on top of things and keep balanced in the summer when the kids are up later and sleeping in, swimming and racing. It’s all fun, but I am READY for school to start back.

A subject that is near and dear to my heart is kids’ health. You’ve read the stories, seen the headlines.  The % of kids overweight has more than TRIPLED (yeah, you read that right) since the mid 1970’s. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Awful, huh?) It’s tough as a parent to fight the marketing and the taste of junk food.  Did you know the government began setting standards for school lunches after World War II because too many young men failed their physicals due to malnutrition?!  But, as you and I both know, our school lunches leave much to be desired. Those programs are trying to balance budgets with demand. That’s why 20% of our Jr. and Sr. High Schools have started bringing in McDonalds and Pizza Hut! It sells and the schools get money. Another loophole in the school lunch program involves the ala carte options which are not required to follow the “standards” set by the government.

As a parent what can you do? Expose your kids to as many healthy foods as possible. Involve them in the meal creation. I allow my kids to add ANY food to the grocery list as long as it is healthy. Also, at my house, if you COOK the meal, you don’t have to do the dishes. So, my kids have actually started cooking meals. That way they cook what THEY want and don’t have to do the dishes. Works for me. Long ago, I took a paper plate and drew a cross on it. I explained 1/4 of the plate should be protein, 1/4 starchy carb (rice/potato/whole grain roll) and half should be covered in colorful vegetables–the more color the better. I encourage them to enjoy a wonderful fruit for dessert and I always try to have some washed on hand so fruit is an easy option when they are hungry.  And, I holler, “Eat REAL!” when they are heading out the door with friends. They probably roll their eyes, however it’s my reminder to choose real food vs. the artifical stuff when they have the option.

I also send lunches to school and incorporate my kids into that planning process. They can select one day a week to eat at school for their “junk” day. (I know, it makes me cringe, but it helps with the balance and buy in!)  Recently I came across a wonderful, easy recipe that my kids LOVE and it gets GREEN into their lives. It is so simple, even my 10 year old makes it!  However it’s best eaten as soon as it is cooked, so it’s not really an option for school lunches.  It’s called “kale crunch” and I hope you enjoy it!

Take one bunch of kale, wash it, shake or blot the water off, and remove the center stalk. I just pull it off by hand. Then line or spray a cookie sheet with pam or olive oil. Fill it with kale, lightly mist with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt, garlic salt, parmesan cheese, or Ms. Dash Chipotle (we’ve tried all of these!).  Bake it for 10 minutes at 375 and voila! You have a light, crunchy GREEN snack for your family to enjoy.

According to Sanjay Gupta, M.D. and a host of other scientists who’ve done studies on dieting success, those dieters who kept a food diary lost twice (yep, that’s “TWICE”) as much weight as those who didn’t.  According to the August 4 issue of Time magazine ( www.Time.com ), the latest study to confirm this was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (this August). It tracked close to 1700 overweight or obese adults across the country who were at least 25 years or older.  All of the participants were encouraged to eat less, have weekly group sessions and exercise moderately–as well as keep a food log.  The most effective method “hands-down” was keeping a record of what was eaten.  In 6 months, the food log dieters lost an average of 18 lbs vs. 9 lbs lost by the non-journaling dieting compadres.

Writing down what you eat helps not only track calories and keeps you honest, but it also helps identify some habits that need adjusting. 

The Times article shared a useful site:    http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ that provides a free food log and other helpful tools. Another site for calorie count information is www.nutritionaldata.com and other free sites to log your eats include www.myfooddiary.com,  www.dietagenda.com/ , or www.fitday.com/ . Many of these include calorie information as well as log and sharing/motivational communities.

The best part of all of this is that every inch lost from your waist or every pound you lose has positive impacts in so many areas: helping to control high blood pressure, reducing your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Plus, your joints will thank you and your sleep and energy levels are likely to improve.

And if you need some additional motivation, check out Dara Torres’ pix in this Aug. 4th Times issue. She’s 41 and kickin’ tail!

Well, for me that’s easy. I love to eat…I wouldn’t dream of missing a meal because of the simple pleasure I get from eating! Having said that, the other reasons just fall in line…I know what happens to my body if I go without food for more than 3 hours. It’s not good (and a whole other blog or two!). So many folks skip breakfast because it’s an easier meal to skip and a cup o’ Joe can often make you “feel” like you’re doing fine without your morning meal. Not so fast, Joe. Think again.

Breakfast eaters are usually slimmer than their non-eating breakfast compadres. They tend to eat fewer calories in a day–believe it or not. Eating breakfast keeps your healthy and helps boost your immune system. It also is good for your brain power. You’ve seen the studies, right? Memory and brain function get a boost from breakfast. It’s not just something good to do for school age children. The same holds true for adults. Numerous tests have been performed in this area.

According to Men’s Health (one of my favorite sources!), “ A   typical breakfast is just a couple of hundred calories, mostly in the form of simple carbohydrates that spike blood-sugar levels and leave the body starving for energy a couple of hours later.

Even a classic fiber-rich breakfast- say a cup of raisin bran with blueberries and skim milk — provides less than 300 calories and only about 10 grams of protein. An ideal breakfast needs to be much larger — between 500 and 600 calories. And it needs to be packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, including at least 20 grams of protein and at least 5 grams of fiber. That will give your body a high-quality, long-lasting, steady supply of energy to help you through the morning.” And of course, this is directed to the gents, so ladies, our caloric needs are a tad less.

Here are 2 breakfast ideas the editors at Men’s Health (www.menshealth.com) shared:

Prep time: 4 minutes

2 slices whole-wheat bread

1/2 c Kashi Go Lean Crunch! cereal

1 c fat-free milk

1 c frozen blueberries

1 1-oz slice Cheddar cheese

Pop the bread into the toaster. Dump the cereal, milk, and berries into a blender and liquefy. Stick a slice of Cheddar between the warm slices of toast and nuke the sandwich in a microwave for 15 seconds. It tastes grilled — but isn’t.

Benefits: “The cheese and milk in this meal are essential for building and maintaining new muscle,” says Christine Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. “The whole grains in the bread and cereal will help lower cholesterol, and the minerals in the milk and cheese will help keep blood-pressure levels down.”

Per meal: 509 calories, 26 grams (g) protein, 75 g carbohydrates, 14 g total fat, 12 g fiber

Grab-and-Go Breakfast

Prep time: 1 minute

1 medium apple

1/2 pint fat-free milk

1 bran Vita muffin

1 pack Skippy Squeeze Stix peanut butter

Slice the apple, grab the milk, muffin, and peanut butter, and go. Squeeze the peanut butter out of its pack onto your apple slices as you eat.

Benefits: Vita muffins (vitalicious.com) contain 100 percent of your recommended intake of several important nutrients, including vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E. Foods high in monounsaturated fats — like peanut butter — may boost testosterone levels. This meal should help you burn energy more efficiently and lift more weight at the gym.

Per meal: 506 calories, 20 g protein, 87 g carbohydrates, 12 g total fat,

ENJOY!! 

In continuation of my weekly sharing of “a few of my favorite things”…this week’s discovery is something I am very excited about. Remember, I love to eat…! Well, I found a place that makes snack sized squeeze packets of peanut butter. Yep. Good ol’ transportable PB! Or Almond Butter –my personal fave. When I am home, I like to incorporate AB into snacks–typically on rice cakes (remember the almond butter with cacao nibs and aquave nectar recipe?) or with granny smith apples , celery, or added to my Greek yogurt. Well, now I can enjoy it at work or on the road. I found this place called Justin’s Nut Butter and you can buy small packs in the flavors of PB, Honey PB, Cinnamon PB, Almond Butter, Honey AB, or Maple Almond. They are USDA-certified organic and have no bad stuff in them. Yum. They don’t last long around my house.

Folks often ask me what and how I eat. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy eating! You’re not going to find me skipping meals. In fact, I typically eat 5-6 times a day. Now those are not full meals, but smaller “mini” meals or snacks in between meals. I find this keeps my energy strong throughout the day by preventing big swings in blood sugar levels.

A little something that I almost always have in the fridge is what I am sharing with you today. It’s super easy to make. You can eat it as is, as a dip, on top of rice cakes-chicken-fish-eggs, or rolled into a flour or corn tortilla! Plus, it’s quick to make and keeps for several days in the fridge.

1 can black beans

1 can chickpeas or white kidney beans

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 can corn

2 large avocados

Il rinse and drain all of the above, with the exception of the rotel tomatoes. That helps remove some of the excess salt. In fact, when possible, I buy organic salt free versions of the veggies. There is plenty of sodium in the tomatoes. Cut up the avocados into small chunks and mix it all together. If you really want to make it more “dip-like” go ahead and mash it up or use a food processor. I’m not big on “kitchen-time” so I usually leave it as is.

That’s all there is to it. Quick and easy. AND, healthy for you. You will get a wonderful source of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. Try it and let me know what healthy recipes you have to share. Especially if they prep time takes < 5 minutes.

EAT REAL (real food, that is) and stay strong!

Lisa

That’s according to Men’s Health and the Abs Diet gang. It’s also the opinion was echoed by my CPT professor when I went back through training to get re-certified. And, it’s the opinion of many of our research institutes.

Seriously, the benefits (scientifically supported) are truly astounding. I’ve been taking fish oil for several years. I literally carry it with me in a small medicine vial in my purse and take it with each meal. To give you a quick education according to the editor’s in Men’s Health:

“There are three types: eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid, known respectively as EPA, DHA, and ALA. EPA and DHA, the omega 3 fatty acids that are most easily used by your body, are found in significant amounts only in marine life, particularly cold-water fish (because they carry more fat for insulation). ALA, on the other hand, is obtained from plant-derived foods, such as flaxseed, canola oil, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. ” According to Bruce Holub, PhD., professor of nutritional sciences at U of Guelph, in Ontario, something to note is that “for ALA to provide any health benefits, your liver must convert it into EPA and DHA.”

What that means is with our ability to convert only 10-15%, we’d have to take in 6X the Omega 3’s from plant sources to equal 1 gram of Omega 3’s from fish. Things that make you go, “Hmmmm.”

For more information on the benefits of Omega 3’s:

University of Maryland Med Center Article

Wikipedia-Omega-3 Fatty Acid

Science Daily Article

Harvard Gazette Article

Fatty fish seems to be the link to long life in areas of high consumption. I’m glad it’s in my arsenal! Have you considered adding it to yours? I know a great place to start: iHealthChic- Fish Oil!

Have a wonderful weekend!