by Dan | Sep 22, 2014 | Exercise, Family, Motivation, Wellness/Health
My girls turn 20 today! Both in their own worlds now. One at SDSU in Brookings, and one at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. One swimming, and one trying to keep running, and both trying to figure out their future life. We all have challenges every day, and for us “older individuals”, we know how challenging and stressful this time in our life can be. You may be away at school learning, but they, like all of us, need to remember one thing: Spend your life learning how to live!
They are still trying to figure out their ultimate destination, but who isn’t? We all continue to learn, and to learn by our mistakes. Life is continuously changing. That is what makes it such a fun adventure. Happy Birthday you two! Stay focused, have fun, live and learn. Mom and I are always here for you!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2551
by kelsey | Sep 17, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Last night we started our fall session of STRIVE 2 Survive. I am so excited to get to work with another awesome group of people! Besides getting to help people improve their health and wellness, one of my favorite parts about STRIVE is the treats County Fair Foods provides us (yes dietitians actually do enjoy food!). Last night’s treats were new ones to us and were excellent! Be sure to give these a try! All of the ingredients can be purchased at our friendly County Fair Food Store.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
1 Box of angel food cake mix (one step kind–the kind that says just add water)
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
3/4 c water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 8oz package of light Cream Cheese
1) Mix together the cake mix, pumpkin puree, water, and cinnamon.
2) Separately mix cream cheese with a couple tablespoons of water to make it smooth and thinned out.
3) Grease baking dish
4) Fill the baking dish with HALF of the pumpkin cake mix and HALF of the cream cheese
5) Run a knife through the mix making figure 8s for a fancy design
6) Then put the rest of the pumpkin cake mix in the baking dish and rest of the cream cheese mix. Again run a knife through the mix making figure 8s for a fancy design.
7) Bake for 35 minutes on 375 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut and enjoy
Mock Tuna
This is a chickpea spread that tastes like tuna salad. Great served in a sandwich or with crackers or pretzles as a dip.
1 (19oz) can of garbonzo beans
2 Tbsp light mayo
2 tsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 green onions chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1) In a food processor combine beans, mayo, mustard, relish, chopped onions, salt and pepper and mix well.
2) Chill.
3) Serve and enjoy!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Sep 14, 2014 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Nick participated in the Augustana sponsored high school cross country meet yesterday. First race since collapsing 300 meters before the finish line 2 weeks ago at the Canby meet at night. What a scare! He had been sick with an upper respiratory infection for over a week, and it was very humid out that day and night. He also has an exercise induced asthma component, but had used his inhaler prior to the race, as usual. With all of this together, he pushed himself to the maximum, and over did it. When he was not coming to the finish, I took off looking for him, but couldn’t find him. As I was running back to the finish line, the PA speaker announced “Dr. Reiffenberger to the ambulance now!” Nothing like a dead sprint to the ambulance! When I got inside, he was “out of it”. He vomited multiple times, and was pouring in sweat. He does not remember what even happened. He lost 10# that night, and took it easy for the next 2 weeks, trying to gain his strength back. Yesterday was his first day back to racing. He was very nervous. He came up to me off at the side 5 minutes prior to the start and told me he was not sure he could do this. I just reinforced to him to just do his best, that it did not matter his time, and he had to prove to himself he could do this.
Here he is coming down the home stretch to the finish line yesterday. Was he happy with how he finished? No. Was he happy with how he felt? No. But he finished, and safely. I applaud him for having the courage to come back and face his fears. He overcame them yesterday, and hopefully now he can keep moving on. This may have just been “a race” yesterday, but this is what life is all about. We all have challenges we have to face in our life, or have fears we have to overcome. We have to be willing to go out of our comfort zone, and face them head on, or risk being ruled by those fears forever. This part was far more important than any race. I could not have been more proud of him that I was yesterday! Way to go Nick, and take on your challenges and fears head on! That is a lesson for us all…things we want do not come easy. Staying fit and doing exercise is never easy, but you can do it, and gain the benefits from it in many ways. Thanks for teaching us a lesson Nick!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2543
by kelsey | Sep 4, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As summer starts to fade into fall and schedules start to become even more jam packed with school events and sports, it starts to become even harder to sit down and eat balanced meals. The summer picnics are replaced with faster on the go meals that are sometimes not the best choices when trying to eat healthy. This busy time puts an even greater emphasis on meal planning. Meal planning can seem like a daunting task if you have never done it before, here are some quick tips for getting started with meal planning.
- Start with a basic template for each day that includes a protein, vegetable, fruit, and a starch. Then sit down with your family during the weekend and plan out what everyone would like on each day. Then on a weekend day, go grocery shopping for all the ingredients that you will need for that weeks menu.
- Take a look at your child’s school lunch menu to try and plan a meal that is different than what your child ate at lunchtime.
- Make meal planning a family event by including everyone in the decision making process. Split up the meals by family members so each member has a day they are in charge of.
- Batch cook: prep some of the food items on the weekend when you have time such as browning up the hamburger, slow cooking the chicken breasts, making a large batch of chili or a large casserole and separating it into smaller containers for freezing and using now.
- Make enough to have leftovers for the next day meals.
- Keep the recipes simple with minimal ingredients for shorter prep time and incorporate your family’s favorite Crockpot recipes.
With these quick and easy tips meal planning can become a fun and enjoyable family process that will save you time and help your family eat healthy while on a busy schedule. Below are some sandwich ideas for the lunch box and easy breakfast ideas to help your child start the day off right!
Sandwich Ideas
- Whole wheat bread with deli meat (try to avoid bologna, pepperoni, and salami)
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Bagel with light cream cheese or peanut butter
- Crackers and cheese
- Pita with hummus
- Ham and cheese rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla
- Dinner leftovers
- Chicken noodle soup
- Quesadilla
- Cheese pizza
5 Fast and Easy Breakfast Ideas:
¨ Fruit and cheese
¨ Fiber rich cereal with lowfat milk or yogurt
¨ Peanut butter, banana , & whole grain toast
¨ Carnation Breakfast Essentials
¨ Simple smoothie– low fat milk, frozen fruit, and ice
-Written by Alex Loes, SDSU Dietetic Student
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by Dan | Sep 1, 2014 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Running has been a part of my life for over 30 years. I have incorporated other forms of exercise in that time period, but running is still at the top of the list for favorites. Whether competition, or for fun, it does not matter. All those times of getting ready for marathons, the marathon may have been the final goal, but the achievement was really the work and the process of getting ready for it. Especially when I had training partners. Lots of conversations and thoughts on those runs, and lots of problem solving. The competition was just the icing on the cake. This was the latest race at the Kampeska triathlon.
That drive to continue to be better is still always there. I have had many training partners over the years, but the one who has been at my side always has been my wife Sarah.
Our son Nick is a senior in high school this year, and then everyone will be off to college. This will be the beginning for Sarah and I to start going to different states to participate in other runs, and start exploring the country. You can see much more going for a run! Figure what can spark that drive in you. If you are tired of starting over, then stop giving up! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2530
by kelsey | Aug 28, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day! Yes, you have probably heard this before, but are you a breakfast eater!? Having a good breakfast is a great way to start out the day. It’s not only important for our body, but our mind too. Many times we’ll have excuses such as I was running late, I didn’t feel like eating, I’m not hungry in the morning, and this actually accounts for about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the population! Starting the day without breakfast is like driving your car on a low tank of gas. We know we can’t go on forever on a low tank of gas, so we shouldn’t do that to our bodies either! Those that skip breakfast tend to snack more on high fat and lower nutritious foods…and are more likely to overeat at lunch because they are over-hungry. Studies have also shown that those working on weight loss are more successful when they eat breakfast as this really jump starts their metabolism and starts their day off right. In addition, eating a healthy breakfast helps our kids excel in school as it helps fuel the brain!
So what should you eat for breakfast? It’s important to get a balance at your meals and especially include a source of protein and a whole grain as these provide satiety. Here are some examples for you:
- Ready-to-eat cereal (>3g fiber, <2-3g fat, a ratio of greater than 4 g carbohydrate:1 g sugar)
- Hot cereal (oatmeal)
- Bagel with low-fat cream cheese or peanut butter
- Yogurt Parfait
- Fruit and yogurt smoothie
- Peanut butter or hummus on whole-wheat toast
- Breakfast quesadilla with low-fat cream cheese and sliced fruit
- Breakfast burrito or taco
- Toasted whole-wheat English muffin with lean ham and low-fat cheese
- Toasted pita with scrambled egg and low-fat cheese
- Low-fat milk and 100% fruit
If you are one who is not a fan of breakfast but understands the importance of it, I encourage you to try a variety of these options and see which one works best for you. I also encourage you to plan ahead. You may need to wake up 5 minutes earlier to fit breakfast in or make your smoothie the night before so all you have to do it pull the bottle or container out of the freezer or fridge in the morning and drink it on your way to work. Starting your day with a full tank will provide long lasting benefits to you and your body!
-Kelsey
