Posts Tagged ‘feeling good’

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The Best Breakfast Cereals

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

The following are my number one picks for cereals. All high in fiber, low in sugar and as few ingredients as possible. You’ll notice that all of these cereals are made with REAL food. Hard to find in a cereal box these days!images-1

Bite Sized Shredded Wheat - Whole Grain Wheat.

*Come on! This is an amazing cereal with ONE ingredient! How rare!

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Kashi Whole Grain Cereal Puffs - Kashi Seven Whole Grain & sesame ( Hard red wheat, brown rice, whole grain oats, triticale barley, try, buckwheat, sesame seeds)

*All food, no sugar. Try adding 1/4 cup of Grape Nuts or Original All Bran to add some fiber!

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Weetabix : Whole Wheat, Barley Malt Extract, Sugar, Salt, Iron, Niacin, Thiamine Hydrochloride.

* Yes, there is sugar in there- but it’s not corn syrup and it’s not some chemical like Aspartam or Sucralose. Plus your only getting 2 grams of sugar in one serving!

NP-SmartBran-US

Smart Bran – Organic wheat bran, organic oat fiber, organic evaporated cane juice, organic psyllium seed husk, organic barley malt extract, organic oat bran, organic whole oat flour, sea salt.

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Grape Nuts – Whole grain wheat flour, wheat flour, malted barley four, salt, dried yeast, soy lecithin. *Enriched with the following vitamin and minerals- iron, vitamin B6, zinc to name a few

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Original Kashi Go Lean - Soy Grits, Kashi Seven Whole Grain & sesame ( Hard red wheat, brown rice, whole grain oats, triticale barley, try, buckwheat, sesame seeds), evaporated cane juice, corn meal, corn flour, soy protein, wheat bran , oar fiber, corn bran, honey, evaporated cane juice, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, salt, annattoo color.

* 13 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber in one bowl! Wow! And no chemicals or corn syrup to boot!

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All Bran Original (The sticks) – Wheat bran, sugar, malt (corn flour, malted barley), salt, vitamins (thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, d-calcium pantothenate), iron.

Type Serving Size Caloires Carbs Protien Fat Fiber Sugar
Bite Sized Shredded Wheat 1 cup 160 37 5 1 6 0
Kashi Whole Grain 7 Cereal Puffs 1 cup 70 15 2 .5 1 0
Weetabix 2 biscuts 130 28 4 1 4 2
Smart Bran 2/3 cup 90 24 3 1 13 6
Grape Nuts 1/2 cup 200 48 6 1 7 4
Original Kashi Go Lean 1 cup 140 30 13 1 10 6
All Bran Original (The sticks) 1/2 cup 90 27 4 1 12 7

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Dealing With Valentines Day Candy

Friday, February 12th, 2010

For whatever reason, we seem to celebrate any and all holidays with food. And not just food- junk food. It’s Valentines day! A day to imagescelebrate love of every kind and we show our affection by giving each other chocolate. Does this really make any sense ? Whether it makes sense to me or not- it’s going to happen! You will inevitably be staring some sort of candy in the face this February 14th.

And I can sit here and write all the ways and reasons you should say NO thank-you to this chocolate or cinnamon heart – I can write 10 suggestions of other things to buy your loved one including flowers, a massage or a pedicure. But the reality is- we are all going to have to cross paths with the stuff. It’s unavoidable. All I ask is that you have it in moderation. Try to stick to one or two treats! Make sure to ask yourself if it’s truly worth it before you pop it in your mouth. And don’t use the day as an excuse to go over board.

One tiny little ball of chocolate it usually around 100 calories (that’s just under 1/2 a chocolate bar) so if you have two chocolates that’s about 1 whole bar. Would you sit and eat 3 chocolate bars in a row ? Then don’t allow yourself to easily pop 6 of these things!

They are deceiving!

And remember – after the big day- throw any left over candy in the garbage. Don’t bring it into the office to taunt others (including yourself) with it. It’s way better in the garbage then on your thighs !!!

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Something To Think About

Friday, February 5th, 2010

A while back I read a very interesting interview with the New York Times best selling author Michael Pollan who had just written a new book titled In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Now, whether or not you agree with all he has to say- it’s still a very interesting and informed point of view. But what struck me most about this interview was how he closed it.

He said, and I quote:
“I think, that the rule to end all rules should simply be, don’t eat anything you’ve ever seen advertised on TV.”

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Since that time, he has released a documentary titled “FOOD INC” – a must see! As well as a new book titled “Food Rules” where he has rules like:
  • Don’t eat anything your great grandmother would not recognize as food. For example- Yogurt tubes
  • Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you make it yourself. – He reminds you what a pain in the butt it is to make cakes and things like french fries. So when you do spend the time to make something – it’s a real treat.

He stresses the cost of food versus the cost of heath-care. How when his parents were growing up, they spent twice as much on food than they did on health care. Now that we live in a society of processed, cheap and mass produced food  – we  spend double on health care and 1/2 as much on food.

What we put into our bodies REALLY does effect our health. Wouldn’t you rather spend the money on feeding yourself yummy, wholesome food then on medication for diabetes and high cholesterol???

Let’s go back to his original challenge – ‘Don’t eat anything you’ve seen advertised on T.V.” A challenging (all be it a tough one to follow.) And I’m sure even he has his moments- you can’t be 100% good 100% of the time. In fact, he was eating a basket of fried something or other while he was being interviewed. But if you can try to accomplish something like this 80% of the time, your way better off then either never doing it or only trying 10 or 20%  of the time!

Try to keep this in the back of your head the next time you go grocery shopping. Best way to accomplish this is to shop the perimeter of the store. This is where majority of the fresh food lives. Or check out local farmer’s markets. You’re pretty much guaranteed to find fresh, local organic fruits, vegetables and protein!
P.S – If you have not done so already- go out and rent FOOD INC. It’s a real eye opener into what we are putting into our bodies everyday.
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3 Keys To Weight Loss

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The 3 key things I tell all my clients about weight loss:

1. You have to eat to lose weight. This rule is of the utmost importance for two reasons.

A. In order for your metabolism to work to it’s best ability- it needs to always be working in some form. Once it rests, it get’s a little lazy. Starting up again is slow- meaning you’re working through calories at a slower pace. Think of it like this: Your want to use a treadmill – it’s way easier (and better for you) to go from a walk to a jog to a run then to go from standing still straight into running.

B.  If you don’t feed your body enough food, it begins to think you’re in starvation mode. What does that mean? Your body is terrified it won’t get enough fuel to make your essential muscles and organs work. So it will take whatever you feed it and HOLD ONTO IT. It will store it as fat (yup, even if it’s fat free) in case such an emergency arises.  I’ve seen people who eat 1000 calories a day GAIN weight.


2. Your body’s # 1 source of energy is carbohydrates. When you eat, your body grabs the easiest thing you ingested and turns it into usable energy. This is normally the simple carbohydrates like white breads and sugars. Now imagine you did not feed your body these things- what would it use ? We’ll if it’s doesn’t have carbohydrates to draw from it moves to fat. Your body will work hard to convert fat (that you have eaten and that’s stored in your body) to usable energy. You want your body to reach for stored fat. This is why many diets take away a lot of unnecessary starches.


3. As soon as you eat a food high in sugar (and fake sugar) you’re setting yourself up for faliure. It’s not YOU personally- but your bodies reaction to how it digests what you have eaten. The food (be it white bread, cereal or a cookie) is going to tell your body that it feels REALLY great to eat this UNTIL you crash, however many minutes later. And then your body is going to want more – regardless of whether you are still hungry- so it can feel good again. Yes it is like an addiction. So although these foods don’t HAVE TO BE off limits while you’re trying to lose weight, know that they are invertible setting up roadblocks for you. Turning down something that looks delicious is a hard enough struggle with your brain, why get your body involved too.

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Heathy Breakfast Ideas

Monday, January 18th, 2010
At the end of 2009 we talked about cleaning out your refrigerator, cupboards, car and purse.  If you have not done this already, now is a great time to throw away all the processed, salt ridden, trans-fat hidden foods in your house. CLICK HERE for a list of what to toss.
I promised I would give you some ideas as to what to fill your cupboards and refrigerator with. Let’s start with breakfast. I’ll hit snacks, lunches, dinners and your purse/car in the next few days. Keep these lists handy and use them to help you grocery shop :-) Even put them on your refrigerator door so that you can use them as a reference when you are deciding what to have in the morning. The key here is to have healthy (yummy) things readily available to grab in the morning on your way out the door. This way you don’t have the option of grabbing a high sugar processed cereal bar – or even worse, noting at all.
  1. Skim or 1% milk.
  2. 1% Chocolate milk
  3. Yogurt – I personally would choose a Greek Style Non Fat Plain Yogurt- but if you hate plain yogurt, pick one that you like.
  4. Eggs.
  5. Cheese.
  6. Cottage cheese.
  7. Fresh fruit like apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit, kiwi’s and pineapple.
  8. Oatmeal.
  9. High Fiber, low sugar cereals like Weetabix and Bite Sized Shredded Wheat
  10. Whole grain or sprouted wheat bread.
  11. Natural peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter.
  12. Pea-meal Bacon.

10 healthy breakfast ideas you can make with this list:

  • Fresh Fruit Plate.
  • Cottage Cheese and Berries.
  • Yogurt and berries.
  • Toast with Peanut (or other nut butter) and a glass of 1/4 cup chocolate milk – 3/4 cup skim milk.
  • Breakfast sandwich with pea-meal and eggs. – Great to go!
  • Cereal. With or without fresh berries.
  • Banana dipped in Peanut butter with a glass of milk. (add 1/4 chocolate milk to this for a delicious chocolate peanut butter banana breakfast)
  • Oatmeal. You can add banana to sweeten it up. I have a client who puts 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter in her oatmeal!
  • Scrambled, poached, soft boiled or sunny side up eggs and toast.
  • Cheese Toast.
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Salad in Seconds

Friday, January 15th, 2010

So often I hear the complaint that salad takes too much time to preare. And if you don’t have dressing in the house, then forget it. We’ll I think I solved that problem today. This is the easiest, yummiest salad and it takes seconds. Here is what you do:

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  1. Open a bag of lettuce. I like to use the “American Style” type for this salad. You know, it’s got Iceberg lettuce in it with cabbage and carrot slices.
  2. Cut up some Feta and sprinkle it on. If you have tomatoes in your house, great!
  3. Pour a little sprinkle of olive oil, a big squirt of lemon juice and a dash of dried oregano on your salad.
  4. VOILA!

*Nutritional Information. 2 cups salad. 1/2 tsp olive oil. 1 ounce regular Feta.

Calories Carbohydrates Protein Fat Fiber
115 1.2 4 8.3 1

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Top 10 Fitness Tips That Really Work!

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Try these top 10 fitness tips to step it up in 2010 -  burn maximum calories while building strength, endurance and stability.

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  1. Interval Training. Intervals allow you to burn maximum calories in a shorter amount of time. CLICK HERE to learn how to add simple intervals into your routine.
  2. Step it up on your favorite cardiovascular machine. CLICK HERE to read about how to maximize your time on the elliptical machine so that you’re not wasting your time. CLICK HERE to watch a video of proper form.  CLICK HERE to find out how to maximize your time on the stationary bike.
  3. Add an element of stability and balance to your workout. From doing bicep curls on one leg to preforming exercises on a BOSU Ball – adding instability will increase core strength, ankle strength, strength in in the muscles that surround your spine, help with done density and burn extra calories. CLICK HERE and you’ll learn 8 new exercises targeted at balance and stability.
  4. Think TOTAL BODY exercises. Total body = total calories! CLICK HERE for a great total body circuit.
  5. Think Glutes. Your butt is made up of the biggest muscle in your body. The bigger the muscle you work the more calories you are going to burn. Things like squats are great for working those muscles!
  6. When in doubt- add a jump! Plyometric exercises (fast powerful movements) are a great way to get your heart rate up and build strength at the same time. Things like squat jumps, runners starts, side skater , toe taps , square dance and bur-pies are all great exercises.
  7. Body Weight exercises are great. As you lose weight the exercises get easier :-) Great motivation to keep you going. Things like push ups, step ups and plank . Check out my series on exercises you can do with your own body weight. CLICK HERE.
  8. Try a class at the gym you’ve never tried before like boot-camp, spinning or kettle bells.
  9. Jump Rope. This is great because you don’t need a gym membership to reap the rewards of the  best cardiovascular exercise out there. CLICK HERE to ready why jump rope is so good for you and why it can burn more calories than running.
  10. Sleep. CLICK HERE to find out why if you need sleep, you should listen to your body.

HAPPY WORKING OUT!!!

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Chicken Vegetable Soup

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

For Christmas I got a subscription to Martha Stewart Everyday Magazine. (Thank-you Marcie!). I love it because it’s a small book that’s filled with seasonal recipes. Martha’s recipes are normally really simple and really good but generally I have to make a change here or there to ‘health-a-fy’ it. But having new ideas and recipes to follow helps me to make a healthy dinner instead of ordering in.

Have a look at how I changed the recipe! Apply these alterations to this one or something else you want to try!

She calls this one Kitchen-Sink Chicken Stew.

Here is what you’ll need:

  • 4 large chicken breasts -bone in, skin on. (Martha used 8 chicken drumsticks)
  • 1 Olive Oil (Martha used 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, I prefer olive and I tried to cut back)
  • Large onion, diced
  • 2 large carrots, chopped ( I added an extra carrot)
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped ( I added an extra stalk)
  • 3 garlic cloves, mashed
  • Martha used russet potatoes, I omitted the starch.
  • 1 pound collard greens, chopped
  • 32 ounces V8 Juice (Martha used 48 ounces. I choose to cut back because I was a little afraid of the intense V8 flavor.)
  • 16 ounces low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tsp White vinegar
  • Cooked Quinoa ( Martha did no use Quinoa. I added some to replace the potatoes and make it a filling meal in a bowl)

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Here is what you do:

  1. Pour 1 tablespoon of In a large pot on medium/high.
  2. Season the raw chicken with salt and pepper and add it to your pot. Sear – about 5 minutes a side.
  3. IMG_0280
  4. Remove chicken from pot and add  carrots, garlic, onions, celery and collard greens.
  5. Cook for 5 minutes, until onions are clear and greens are wilted.
  6. Pour in your V8, chicken stock, worchestershire and add your chicken back in.
  7. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  8. Once the soup is done. Remove the chicken from the pot and take the chicken off the bone (it should fall off)
  9. Add the chicken meat back into the soup.
  10. Add in two tsp of white vinegar.
  11. Serve! If you’re adding Quinoa, now is the time to do it. I use 2 ounces of already cooked Quinoa (I always have some in the refrigerator).

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This is a great recipe because it keeps for a few days in your refrigerator. It’s a good one to bring for lunch and warm up in the microwave. It’s also nice to come home after a long day of work and have dinner ready.

*Nutritional Information  - Serves 8

Calories Carbohydrates Protein Fat Fiber  
211 10.2 28.6 5.4 2.5 Without Quinoa
280 22.9 31.1 6.4 3.6 With Quinoa

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5 Tips for a Healthy 2010

Monday, January 4th, 2010

I always find that people kinda go crazy right after the New Year. They try to convince themselves that they are going to eat 100% perfectly and exercise everyday. That nothing or no one can stop them. Well it sure sounds great! And I know it’s with the best of intentions that we make these promises to ourselves. The problem is, when you miss one of these impossible targets – people tend to get mad at themselves and start a vicious cycle. Here are some tips to help you avoid over promising yourself things that you can not live up to.

  1. Set attainable fitness goals. Try aiming for 2 or 3 times a week instead of 5. Once you’ve got that down, add another day.
  2. Give yourself barriers you can live with. Maybe “I will be healthy 80% of the time.” or ” I will only go out for dinner/ order in dinner – once a week.”
  3. Base your weight loss goals on a pair of pants and not a number on a scale. Instead of torturing yourself with a number on the scale each morning try this : Find a pair of pants in your closet that will fit if you lose 10 pounds. In 8 weeks, check in to see if your 10lb pants fit. If they do- find another pair of pants and do the same thing until you reach your final destination pants :-)
  4. Be realistic about how much you can take on. Work busy and stressful ? Life at home busy and stressful ? Decide what you can realistically do and aim for that. Maybe make a schedule with your spouse so you know when you can get to the gym and how dinner is actually going to get made every night.
  5. Make this about long term health and not a short term quick fix. You have to eat and exercise in a way that you can keep doing for life. Once you stop – you will gain the weight back so it has to be something you can live with. Don’t think of this change as a six week experiment or an 8 week fix. It’s a life long goal.
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10 Holiday Health and Fitness Tips

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

COUNTDOWN TO NEW YEARS TIP #4

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You may have finished off your day with a glass of wine and a slice of pie, but you have a chance every morning to start your day off right!

Whether you’re a breakfast eater or not, this holiday season make it a point to wake up to a healthy breakfast everyday!

Why is breakfast so important?

  1. You may not be physically hungry in the morning but that doesn’t mean your brain and muscles (including organs) don’t need the energy to help you get moving and thinking! (Would you let a toddler or tween leave the house on an empty stomach? Neither should you)
  2. Studies have shown that a healthy breakfast can help you curb cravings and eat fewer unnecessary calories during the day.
  3. After a nights sleep, your body is in ‘fasting mode”. In order to wake up that metabolism you have to ‘break- your- fast”.
  4. Breakfast will  set you off on the right foot for the day. Sometimes all you need to stay healthy and active during the day is the right beginning.

SOME GREAT BREAKFAST IDEAS

  • Steel cut Irish oatmeal with sliced banana ( Can be made the night before!)
  • Yogurt and berries
  • Plate of fresh fruit
  • Whole grain toast (I like Ezekiel) with natural peanut butter. I really love this with sliced banana on top and a glass of milk on the side.
  • Whole grain cereal like Bite Sized Shredded Wheat or Weetabix.
  • If you have time, make an egg sandwich to go. Use a whole wheat or Ezekiel English muffin, a slice of Peameal bacon and an egg!
  • Make a smoothie with plain yogurt, frozen berries and some skim milk.
  • Cottage cheese with berries.
  • If you’re in a rush grab things like- a yogurt, a cheese string, an apple, a banana, a slice of whole grain with a natural nut butter and hit the road!


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