Saturday Morning Healthy Eating Tip

Few people get enough vegetables in their daily diet. Veggies have less calories than almost any of the other food groups, especially the green ones. A recent study showed the benefits in families targeted to increased fruits and vegetables in their diet.


I've made a conscious effort for the past year in my chosen healthy life path to eat more vegetables. However, the challenge is getting enough servings of veggies per day.

My trick, and the tip that I share is to include a serving of vegetables with breakfast. I include bell peppers, carrots, or fresh spinach with most of my morning meals.




The recommended goal for healthy men and women is 4-5 servings per day. Serving size depending on the particular veggie is either 1/2 or whole cup. My motto, if it's green, it's a cup.

Give this tip a try. You'll be surprised how easy it will be to make vegetables a part of the first meal of the day.

Healthy Breakfast to start the day off

Cooking Light Breakfast Parfait 

Eating breakfast is a very important part of a game plan for better health. Eating breakfast has a number of benefits including:

• Energy to start the day 
• Control of hunger later in the day
• Maintaining metabolic rate 

Eighty percent of people who kept weight off long term reported eating breakfast. With that kind of data, why wouldn't you eat breakfast? 

However, the breakfast that you choose is very important. Here are a few recipes for a healthy breakfast start for the day courtesy of Cooking Light. 

A little cooking effort on your part can have big payouts. 

Chicken Soup for a Cold Weekend

Healthy Chicken Soup for a Cold Weekend

Soup can be a great, healthy meal for singles or families. Besides warming you up on an especially cold winter day, left-over soup stretches into a quick additional meal for later in the week.

I'll be cooking up a batch of quick chicken soup later this afternoon. I'm afraid that I don't have the specific nutrition breakdown per bowl, but it is an overall healthy dish. It will serve 4-6 people an average size bowl of soup. The addition of alphabet pasta adds interest for my family and will for yours as well. I use the microwave to par-cook the pasta and save prep time.

My Quick Alphabet Chicken Soup 

1 cooked rotisserie chicken
2 cups of chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic (I use the prepared garlic such as Spice World brand)
1/2 - 2/3 of cup of dried alphabet letter shaped pasta
48-64 oz of low-fat chicken stock (1 1/2 to 2 of the large size chicken stock containers)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Strip the rotisserie chicken and remove all the skin and fat. Slice the meat (both light and dark) into small bites. Place sliced chicken into bowl
Slice raw vegetables and place into bowl.

Put pasta in a microwave safe container and cover with about 2-3 inches of extra water
Microwave pasta on high power for 10 minutes. Check pasta for softness and cook further to desired softness.

Drain pasta in a colander.

Add olive oil to soup pot under medium-high heat
Add vegetables and garlic to olive oil
Saute vegetables until they become soft
Add one 32 oz container of chicken stock to vegetables
Add chicken and pasta to soup
Add additional chicken stock to desired amount - thicker vs thinner soup
Bring mixture to boil for 5-10 minutes
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Reduce heat to simmer and serve when ready

Here is a bonus for 25 comforting chicken soup recipes courtesy of Cooking Light.

Quick tips to keep focused on diet

Feeling tired or stress?

I passed on working out this morning. I woke up feeling a little sick and needing extra rest. The beginning of this year has been challenging to keep balance between work, family, and health.

Eating healthy has also proven a challenge in the last few weeks with meetings and Valentines day chocolates. I decided to write some quick diet tips since I'm out of commission for exercise for the next day or two.


Here are a few quick tips to help with accountability and focus with diet.

Tip 1: Make a game plan

You can do the research and figure out a calorie target that is right for you, but you also need to figure out how you can move forward towards that target.

• What foods will you eat?
• What foods will you avoid or severely moderate? 
• How many meals will you eat daily? 

Write down your goals. People who write down their goals and review them regularly are more likely to achieve those goals.

Evaluate successes and reward yourself when you achieve a goal. Consider also what combination of steps allowed you to successfully achieve your goal.

Prepare ahead of time with a stock of healthy food. Do menu planning for a week or at least several days.


Tip 2: Be responsible and accountable 

Share your plan with family or friends and keep them updated. They will support you when you achieve success or experience a set-back.

A set-back doesn't mean you've failed.  Success is not a guarantee, and it's a reality that must be anticipated.   If you eat something that's not on your diet or overeat, adjust your eating the rest of the day. Also, there is the next day to begin fresh.

Early week motivation

Remember that even small actions can help you in your journey towards better health. 

Small changes that you make early in your week can help carry you along. Consider these small changes:

• Do a brief (20-30 min) workout before breakfast 
• Pack a healthy lunch the night before 

Start 2012 with food success

Eating out is a reality in most family's busy lives. However, eating out adds risks including:

• Excess calories 
• Excess fat
• Inadequate vegetable 

Make a resolution to cook at home. Get fresh fruits and vegetables. Involve your children in cooking. 

What are you waiting for? Get started! 

A Shocking Discovery Unwrapped in Holiday Snack Food

Unwelcome Presents in Snack Food Ingredients

I am so bummed about Bugles!

I used to love this snack food as a child but seldom eat them these days. Most of the time I come across Bugles is around the Christmas as a party snack food.





Reading food labels has been a habit for me for the last 1-2 years, and I decided to take a peek at the Bugles label. I was mainly looking for the usual things such as

• Serving size 
• Calories per serving 
• Fat per serving 
• Fat content - saturated vs unsaturated 

Bugles didn't show me much that I didn't already expect such as a calorie content of 160 calories per 30 gram serving. Why don't the companies quantify in # of Bugles in a serving? It's a major hassle to weigh out chips on a kitche scale. I suspect that the serving size is around 12 to 15  Bugles based on some other chip labels that do give chip counts per serving.

However, the biggest surprise for me were the ingredients list in Bugles. The two main ones that caught my eye were

• Degermed yellow cornmeal 
• BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) 

The degermed cornmeal is basically the same a white flour. It is cornmeal stripped of all the fiber. I'm sure the glycemic index for it is higher than less processed cornmeal.

BHT is a preservative, not unexpected. I recognize toluene as a chemical compound from college organic chemistry, and it is not something that I would ever want to eat especially knowing now that  embalming fluid and jet fuel also contain BHT.

Sadly, Bugles and I must part ways now. I ate my last chip yesterday. The lesson that I learned again yesterday and share here is the lesson to always read labels not only for servings and calorie information but also to investigate what you are eating. 

I intend to eat less processed foods, foods without perservatives, and more whole grains this coming New Year. How about you?

Be a Childish Eater for the Holidays

Cooking Light's Twelve Healthy Habits for 2011 inspires readers every month. One recent in particular assumes new relevance with the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Five Healthy Habits We Can Learn from Kids offered some very practical tips.


1. Live an Active Life
2. Listen to Your Tummy
3. Enjoy Every Bite
4. Fun Takes Precedence over Food
5. Be a Finicky Eater

I think the final tip is especially relevant in this Holiday Season. The weeks spanning from Halloween through New Year's challenge everyone dedicated to eating healthy and living actively. The tip comes especially in handy when treats inevitably arrive in the office in the next few months. Here are three quick practical, personal takes on energizing this simple tip. 

• Eat only what you know you like  
• Take a small taste of unknown treats
• Spit out (politely) or put aside anything you try and don't like

All manner of food and treats will make their appearance in public, office, and home during these next weeks. Use this tip and you will gain the edge when facing healthy eating challenges.

Show recap for November 8th

CHALLENGE

The cooking challenge was a great way to start off the show. All of the recipes looked delicious. I want to find the winning pork recipe to try it. The calorie count under 300 calories is astounding.

I plan to check out the Biggest Loser Quick and Easy Cookbook 



ELIMINATION

Sad to see Joe go. He is a very likeable person.Drama was added by having only a single player in each team weigh-in for the week.

Prior Planning when Eating Out

I experienced a practical example of the perils of eating out yesterday. I was forced to get breakfast at Starbucks near my work.

I tried very hard to size up the pastry choices and decided on the raspberry scone. I checked my calorie and fat choice later in the day.

VERDICT - FAIL

I made a very unhealthy choice that incurred 480 calories with 25 grams of fat. I should have gone with the apple bran muffin at 350 calories and 8 grams of fat. I should have known better that scones are made with tons of butter.

I did choose an Americano ( Espresso +  hot water) for my drink and used skim milk + splenda which added little calories to the scone.

Prior planning is my take-home thought to share.

1. Do your nutrition research before you go to the restaurant

Many restaurants post their nutrition information online. A little research will allow you to create your own healthy item choices before you ever step inside the restaurant

2. Consider supplementing the menu with your own food

I should have carried some healthy breakfast items with me instead of going whole in at starbucks. I could have supplemented a packed breakfast with a 150 calorie skinny latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup as my sweet treat.

Portion size perils

I wanted to share a brief real life portion challenge I faced yesterday. I went to try out a new frozen yogurt place with the family. The store was giving some of the sales to a local school.

The big sign in the store touted how healthy their yogurt was - low calorie, safe for diabetics, safe for lactose intolerant, ect. The set up in the store allowed you to self serve the yogurt, add toppings, and then pay based on the weight of the serving.


HERE'S THE PERIL..... the sign also said that an 8 oz serving of yogurt had 64 calories. BUT... the only container choice available was much larger at 32 oz.  The store's system was set up to make it hard to truly control portion size if you're counting.


IN ADDITION, the toppings were mostly unhealthy choices like gummi bears or crumbled candy bars further making controlling calories a challenge. Filling the cup up and adding candy toppings would probably set you back at least 350 calories or more.

I hopefully stayed under a 100 calories with my choice. I tried to ballpark 8 oz of the chocolate yogurt (hardly filled the monster cup) and added maybe 1/2 or 1/4 cup of chopped strawberries.

So, be a hawk about portions and choices when eating out.

Show recap for Nov 2nd - Things Change

Just a quick post on the show. I watched it late last night. It was one of the more enjoyable shows for this season.

FOOD FIGHT

I've said how much I HATE temptation challenges. I LOVE knowledge challenges like last night's calorie counting challenge. Calorie counting is an essential tool for to both achieve and maintain weight loss.

Oft overlooked calories in Mexican Restaurant meal

It is staggering to think that all of the meals shown had calorie counts equal to a full day worth of calories. Sunny's Mexican meal was over 4000 calories! There are so many calorie hazards with Mexican food. One of the the most overlooked hazards are the tortilla chips. A basket of chips can set up back 250-400 calories. Add some queso to those chips, and it's all over.




Final Word on Anna 

Thumbs down to Anna

I have decided thumbs down on Anna as a trainer. Telling Joe to "man up" is not a great way to start your trainer relationship. I realize that her team achieved success at the weigh-in. However, she doesn't have likability or inspiration.



Anna is talented and capable. She was able to take her good looks and talent as a good (not great) tennis player and be successful.  However, she just isn't able in my mind to use her skills to add value as a trainer to the Biggest Loser. NBC needs to keep looking for a trainer or make Jillian Michael an offer she can't refuse.

I won't waste any more time commenting on Anna. I hope that her team is able to take what they need from her and others on the Ranch to be successful.

Elimination 

Jessica's departure was logical. She is young and healthy. Her chance of winning the marathon is pretty good.

I also think it is good for her and Ramon to have some time apart to gain perspective on their romance.


Bonnie Reconsidered 

I was pretty harsh on Bonnie in a prior post. I have some regret after last night's episode. She appeared to be a different person. Maybe, her relationship with Anna was so toxic and negative. I'm taking a fresh look at Bonnie now. I hope that Dolvett and John will help her in her personal growth.

Four Halloween Survival Tips

Halloween begins the Triple Threat weight gain time of the year.

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas 

Here are four tips to make your Halloween fun while controlling the high calorie tricks.

1. Start the burn early

Workout in the morning. A calorie burn in the morning will boost metabolic rate all day and give some extra calories for nocturnal indulgence.

2. Keep candy calorie counts in mind

Candy is candy, and you will have lots calories, sugar, and fats in any treats you receive. However, not all candy is equal. Some candy choices hit the calorie and fat bottom line much harder than others. Here is a quick guide on Best and Worst Halloween Candy courtesy of Eat this, not that.

Portion on control is key as well. Enjoy only a few of your treats on Halloween and save or share the rest over the next one or two weeks.

3. Watch the alcohol

Adult parties with adult beverages are common on Halloween. The calorie breakdown for common alcoholic drinks includes the following:

• 12 oz beer = 150 calories 
• 5 oz wine = 100 calories 
• 6 oz Margarita = 327 calories 

Moderate your drinking or even skip the alcohol to save yourself some calories.

4. Trick-or-treat on your feet

Walk instead of drive the trick-or-treat route. Besides the extra calorie burn with walking, you'll get some additional benefits including:

• visiting fewer homes which means less candy 
• actually talking to neighbors or meeting new people 
• getting your children active 

I hope these tips help you create new Halloween habits. 

Remains of the Pumpkin

Home Hack Job

Carving the pumpkin is a fun Halloween tradition. I just finished carving our family pumpkin. I included a photo of the hack job.

The job of pumpkin carving is a messy one. The most obvious reward is a hopefully scary or silly jack-o-lantern for the porch on the 31st.

However, the pumpkin seeds present a hidden reward for those who are willing to invest some extra effort.



Toasting pumpkin seeds from the carved pumpkin makes for a fun and flavorful snack. Cleaning the seeds is relatively easy. They can be washed thoroughly in a colander or boiled briefly to remove the stringy pumpkin flesh.

Here is a basic recipe courtesy of Food Network  for toasted pumpkin seeds. I use this basic recipe, but I add 2 teaspoons of cumin along with 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper.

Pumpkin seeds are relatively high in fat as are all nuts. A cup of toasted seeds has 286 calories. However, enjoyed in small portions, they can be a tasty treat. Give them a try this Halloween Season!

Four Letter Secret of Maintaining Weight Loss Success

A recent medical study on longterm weight loss success reinforced timeless wisdom. The study looked at the profile of people who were successful in maintaining 10% weight loss over a 10 year time period. Eight characteristics were identified in the successful group.

1. Eat a calorie moderated diet of no more than 1800 calories per day with no more than 30% fat content
2. Eat breakfast regularly
3. Eat fast food less than once per week
4. Eat out at restaurant no more than three times per week 
5. Regularly eat same foods with no over-eating at parties or other special events 
6. Track weight at least once per week 
7. Spend less than 10 hours a week on screen time 
8. Participate in regular physical activity 

FOOD is the four letter secret!

Five of the eight success areas deal with food choices. The four major areas of focus in food choices include:

• Timing 
• Portion size  
• Calories content  
• Carbohydrates content 

If you haven't already started a healthy diet. Begin it today. Small steps in changing your food choices will lead to a healthy life and loss of weight.

Eat Your Vegetables

Green Beans with Honey-Mustard Glaze

Sugars and calories can quickly sneak their way into the diet. Many foods are fortified with high fructose corn syrup which is questioned as a culprit in weight gain.  Compared to many other foods, most vegetables and fruits have less calories and sugars per serving. An obesity research study published in 2001 showed multiple benefits in families targeted to increased fruits and vegetables in their diet.
Obesity prevention begins in the home and includes the entire family. However, healthy eating can be a struggle in children who are most at need for  establishing early healthy eating.

Here are some quick tips and recipes courtesy of Cooking Light to get more healthy vegetables into family meals. 

Show recap for October 11th

All-weather Challenge

I got my wish from last week with more outdoor workouts. The ultimate obstacle course challenge in multiple terrain and weather was the challenge this week.

I liked the swimming workouts with Bob. Swimming is a great way to workout with minimal stress on the joints. I will be adding some swimming back into my weekly workouts and will do an entire post on my experience with some tips.

Dolvett and Courtney shot some hoops. Shooting baskets is a great upper body workout and can really mix things up in the weekly exercise plan. The same workout experience is true for tennis. I was happy to see Anna trying new workouts with her team.

The Trainers

Bob and Dolvett were engaged and motivating to their teams. I've noticed now for several weeks that Anna is wearing a lot of make-up in her close-ups. I really wish she'd lose the make-up. It's distracting and makes it hard for me to take her seriously.  Her team's weigh-in loss also seals it that she is not a good replacement for Jillian.


Past Season Contestants 


Great to see some of the former contestants visit and offer motivation. Hannah, Marcie, and Adam look great. Hannah's stuffed turkey bell pepper recipe has 140 calories per serving and looks delicious.

Jerry Hayes from Season 7 would have been a great visitor for the blue team.

Elimination

Sad to see coach Mike leave.



Bonnie's decision to eliminate her team's strongest player seals the blue team's fate. I predict the entire blue team will be gone within 2-3 weeks if the current team arrangement stays.

Eating well 12 months of the year

Healthy eating is a challenge is the busy life most of us lead. However, it is a necessity for everyone for optimum health. For those of us with weight to lose, it is absolutely essential. Even the most active people will not lose weight if calories and food content are not healthy and balanced.






 Healthy cooking can be a challenge on many levels such as

• Poor support from family
• Lack of time for cooking
• Tight finances 
• Lack of recipes

One of the greatest resources for me has been the Cooking Light magazine. The magazine not only has abundant recipes but also has many health articles including work-out programs.

Cooking Light launched the 12 healthy habits program this year. This month's healthy habit is eating more fish. Fish is a great source of protein and most fish are very light on calories.

Please check out the program and check out my favorite fish recipe for the month, Sauteed Tilapia with Honey Scallion Dressing.