by kelsey | Nov 15, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Weight Management
The Holidays are almost here! Many of you are working very hard to get ready for your family and friend holiday functions….which usually involves alot of baking and cooking! The following are a few ways to lighten your recipes so you can still enjoy…just without all of the extra calories, fat, and sugar.
Butter, shortening, margarine, or solid fat: Use 1/4 less liquid oil or solid fat called for in the recipe–so if the recipe calls for 1 cup, you could use 3/4 c. If the recipe uses shortening, use 3 Tbsp oil. Use equal amounts of oil for melted shortening, margarine, or butter. You can also replace 1 c of fat with 1/2 c. prune puree or 1 c of fat with 1 c unsweetened applesauce. Oil in place of a solid fat is also a healthier substitution. If you use any of these, you will want to monitor your baking time as it may need to be reduced by 25%.
Whole milk, half and half, or evaporated milk: Use skim milk, 1% milk, evaporated skim milk, fat free half and half, or plain soy milk with calcium
Cream Cheese: use nonfat or reduced fat.
Sour cream or mayo: use nonfat or reduced fat…or use nonfat Greek yogurt and get a little extra protein and calcium.
Cream or whipping cream: use evaporated skim milk or non fat whipped topping or cream.
Eggs: use 2 whites in place of 1 egg or 1/4 egg substitute.
Sugar: Reduce sugar by 1/4 to 1/3- if recipe calls for 1 c, use 2/3 c. You can also use sugar substitutes such as Splenda and use the equivalent chart on the back of the bag. Baking time may be shorter, so be sure to watch it closely!
If you choose not to lighten your recipes, practicing portion control is another great tool to use. Allow yourself to enjoy your favorite holiday treats, but in moderation and be sure to get your exercise in!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Nov 13, 2016 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The ancient greeks defined happiness as: “Happiness is the joy that you feel when we’re striving after our potential”. In regards to happiness, Eleanor Roosevelt stated: “Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could do both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.” Good words to go by! Being active is crucial in staying happy. If you are happy you don’t sit at home and do nothing. Happy people are out doing things they are passionate about, and doing things that are meaningful to them. Their activity is empowered by purpose. Success is happiness, and as I stated on the previous post, the message on the back on my shirt I wear in the marathons states: Success: A journey, not a destination. The journey is life…life with all it ups and downs, good times and bad times…but it is your journey. Your journey to make without having to have someone else’s approval.
Success is happiness!
Happy people also have their times when they feel sad, or upset, or their dreams don’t always comes true. It is what they do under those circumstances that define who they are, and what they are made of. They are working continuously on how to become better…not better than somebody else, but better than they were previously. Happiness also means having fun. We need to do things that make us happy. This could be something different for all of you. When we exercise, and watch what we eat, we overall physically feel better, and everything that comes each day, both good and bad, we are able to handle better. Don’t be afraid to express your happiness. If might just rub off on somebody else, and actually make them smile, or even perhaps…make their day! Our run group is a great example of showing happiness. We all love to run. When we can’t run, things in life do go as smooth. We are crabby, more easily frustrated, quicker to anger…we are not happy! So when we can run, we are eager to show this off as well.
Some day we may physically not be able to run…today is not that day. We will come up with something else, I am sure, to replace this. Some other type of activity/exercise. Sitting around is not all it is cracked up to be. Life is much more fun and adventurous when you are on the move! The times we spend after a run are also very good. There are a time to relax, and enjoy life…enjoy and celebrate our ability to run!
Life is about choices…having choices, and making choices. You can choose happiness, or not. The decision is up to you. But, choosing happiness will definitely make you better. It will make you a better you!
For me, staying active, and especially running, is my passion. I feel better! I function better! I do better! It is helping me to become a better version of me! It is a runderful life!
Choose wisely! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3334
by kelsey | Nov 10, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As the weather starts changing and it gets colder out, we tend to change our pattern of eating to more soups, stews, and casseroles. These selections are a great way to pack a variety of nutrients into one dish. In addition, they can be very cost effective due to the excess garden produce present in our grocery stores and farmer’s market lately. Here are a few nutrition tips to consider when you’re prepping your favorite meal:
- When using store bought broths or soup mixes such as cream of chicken, choose the low-sodium or reduced fat varieties.
- Use herbs and spices to season rather than salt.
- Add more vegetables and lean meat to the recipe to give you more nutrition.
- Thicken with pureed beans, potatoes, or vegetables.
- Sprinkle your soups or stews with low fat cheese for added flavor and nutrients, without too many calories.
- Think about balance: incorporate something from each food group into your meal to provide your body with a top notch quality and nutritious meal.
- Practice portion control: it’s easy to dish up your plate with casserole or fill up a big bowl of stew and not realize how much you’re eating, so measure out your foods and eat mindfully to ensure appropriate portion control.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 9, 2016 | Diet, Food, Goals, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Does your plate look like the one above? It can be challenging at times to meet the dietary recommendations for the 5 food groups. Our meals are often in-balanced and over-portioned due to our lack of knowledge, time, or effort in preparing the meal. Meal planning is a great tool to help you make healthy meals, use appropriate portion sizes, and help you meet your health and wellness goals (as well as a budget!). Choosemyplate.gov has some excellent resources in helping you get started with meal planning. They also have menus to give you some ideas on what a week’s meals should look like. Go visit: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/budget for more information and tips and direction on how to get started! I recommend doing weekly meal planning and if possible incorporate some batch cooking into that to help you save time and efforts on those week nights that you’re short on time and energy! If you’d like individual help with this, please contact me…more than happy to help get you started with improving your nutrition!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 8, 2016 | Etc.
We discuss eating strategies for your weight, heart, etc, but we also have to eat right to keep our skin healthy and glowing! Winter will be here before we know it and the winter months make it hard on our skin as the air is dry and cold! The beauty industry has a variety of products to help promote healthy and glowing skin, however diet is also an important factor. Research on the best foods for healthy skin is limited, but what we do know is that antioxidant rich foods are effective in promoting healthy and glowing skin. Antioxidants are substances that protect our cells against free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules made when our body breaks down food or by environmental exposures such as tobacco use or radiation. They damage the cells and may play a role in diseases such as heart disease and cancer. A colorful diet is most effective for skin health and each color offers specific vitamins and minerals such as: beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. A diet rich in the following foods will help you get beautiful and healthy skin you’re wanting!
- Red, Orange, & Yellow Produce: carrots, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, apricots, etc
- Green Leafy Vegetables: spinach, romaine lettuce, broccoli, etc
- Blue & Purple Produce: blueberries, raspberries, eggplant, etc
- Lean Proteins: beans, lentils, nuts
- Fatty Fish: salmon, mackerel, sea bass
It’s also important to be mindful of foods that can cause greasy and oily skin such as high sugar and high fat foods: pastries, cookies, fried foods, etc. These foods should be avoided or limited and instead focus on a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, low fat dairy, and whole grains. In addition to diet, eliminating tobacco abuse and using sunscreen are effective in promoting healthy skin. These recommendations are not only going to benefit your skin, but also your overall health. Color and variety in your diet will help you look stunning always!
-Kelsey
