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November 29, 2008
Weight Loss Pitfalls
Three common sabotages to weight loss efforts:
1.) Liquid Calories
Smoothies and juices are way too easy to guzzle down. Worse, your brain doesn't consider those calories food, so they don't fight off hunger.
Solution: Choose water every other time you're thinking of having a "healthy" drink. Better yet, limit yourself to eight ounces of 100% juice a day or less and skip juice drinks entirely.
2.) Mindless Eating
Think of it as edible amnesia, a condition where you forget things like mowing through a bag of chips while vegging out in front of the TV, or grabbing a bag of M&M's every time you leave a store.
Solution: Uncover problem times by keeping a record of every morsel (or drink) that passes your lips. Maintain the journal for at least a week.
3.) Inactivity
Even if you're sweating in the gym, you may be moving around less later on — because you're either tired or feel like you've already worked out enough to justify skipping everyday activities such as taking the stairs.
Solution: Buy a pedometer and get in at least 10,000 steps a day — in addition to your workout.
Posted by Lisa at 09:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 19, 2008
Five fabulous foods to feature on Turkey Day
Many bemoan the calories in a typical Thanksgiving meal but traditional foods at this feast can be among the healthiest foods you can eat. Here are the top five foods that should make an appearance at your holiday table.
• Cranberries. Cranberries are loaded with the antioxidant vitamin C and are also a rich source of plant chemicals called bioflavonoids that help fight cancer. Cranberries are also used to treat urinary tract infections. They’re too tart to be eaten fresh so they are usually used in sauces or relishes with some added sweetener to cut the sour taste.
• Sweet potatoes. Although not related to the white potato, these beautiful tubers should replace white potatoes this Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes, with their deep orange flesh, are excellent sources of beta-carotene (the plant precursor to vitamin A) and vitamin C. Both of these antioxidant nutrients are needed to strengthen your immune system and fight off that winter cold. Sweet potatoes also provide fiber and potassium — two nutrients that are deficient in the diet of most Americans.
• Turkey. Not the pre-basted frozen variety, buy a fresh turkey that is not pumped with basting juices and sodium-laden additives. Fresh turkey is low in fat (less than 5 grams per serving) and rich in the vitamins niacin and B6. Dark meat is slightly higher in fat than breast meat, but it also provides more iron than white meat. Make sure to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Don’t rely on the pop-up timer. Turkey should be cooked to 180 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure thorough cooking.
• Greens. Mustard, turnip, collard or kale — greens are full of healthy nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamin C, folate, fiber and calcium. Green leaf plants are the best source of folate — whose name is derived from foliage — a nutrient that can prevent birth defects.
• Pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving would not be complete without pumpkin pie. This fleshy edible fruit (even though most would classify it as a vegetable) is rich in antioxidant nutrients that are associated with deep orange color — beta-carotene and vitamin C — but is also rich in potassium and fiber. One slice of pumpkin pie has 350 calories but the same size slice of pecan pie has 520 calories.
Posted by Lisa at 09:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 17, 2008
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
This is a recipe I modified from The NFL Gameday Cookbook. Great taste and super easy to make.
10 oz pork tenderloin
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
4 gloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Whole wheat hamburger buns
Add all ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Shred pork with fork. Pile on hamburger bum and enjoy!
Makes 2-3 servings.
Posted by Lisa at 07:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2008
Thursday Night Special
Although I love to cook, by the time Thursday rolls around, I'm usually burned out with cooking and meal planning. So Thursday night has become my husband's night to plan and prepare dinner...and I'm the sous chef! His new technique is reductions and this week we had a seared pork loin with a apple/red wine reduction sauce. Surprisingly - very good:)
Reduction
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Pork
8 oz pork loin
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp dried Rosemary
Water
To make the reduction, bring the above ingredients to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes or until liquid is thickened. You can add cornstarch towards the end to reach desired thickness.
Meanwhile, heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Butterfly the pork loin for even cooking. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the pork. Add pork to the pan and sear for about 4 minutes on each side. Add 1/4 cup water to the pan. Cover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in the center. Slice pork and spoon reduction sauce over the pork.
We also had thinly sliced zucchini roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Season with olive oil and salt-free mixed herb seasoning. And...like usual, a tossed green salad.
Posted by Lisa at 06:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 08, 2008
Zucchini Fries
These are very easy to prepare and a great sub for french fires.
2 zucchini
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Vegetable cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425°. Cut zucchini into 3-inch sticks. Whisk an egg white in a small bowl, and add milk. Combine Parmesan and seasoned breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Dip zucchini sticks into egg mixture, and then roll in breadcrumb mixture. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, and place zucchini on sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield: Makes about 32 fries
Posted by Lisa at 09:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 03, 2008
Heart Disease Risk Factors
Good summary from Prevention Magazine:
Age: Anyone 45 or older is at a higher risk of diabetes, and a woman's risk of heart disease begins to rise at 55. Cancer risk also increases with age. (Talk about a midlife crisis.)
Family history: I always assumed that because many in my family had died from heart disease, I was in trouble. But it turns out that what really matters is early heart disease — for men that means a heart attack before age 55 and for women, age 65. Even then, only first-degree relatives — parents, children, and siblings — are considered red flags. And while it's true that type 2 diabetes rarely occurs in people who aren't overweight or obese, the risk of developing the disease is 5 to 10 times higher if a first-degree relative has it — regardless of your weight.
As far as the big C is concerned, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of cancers are inherited, and those that are typically occur earlier in life. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), most cancers are caused by gene mutations brought on by age, lifestyle, and environmental factors, like inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and increased exposure to radiation or carcinogenic chemicals, among others. In fact, researchers from Britain's Million Women Study found that 5 percent of all cancers affecting postmenopausal women in the United Kingdom are associated solely with excess body weight. Indeed, the ACS and the NCI acknowledge that while being overweight and obese are linked to an increased risk of cancer, there is limited evidence that losing pounds will reduce that risk.
Waist measurement: For women, a waistline of 35 inches or larger is a risk factor for heart disease, no matter how much you weigh or how trim your arms and legs are. And a measurement of 31.5 inches or more indicates an elevated risk of some cancers.
Fitness: Walking briskly for 30 minutes, five days a week, is enough to protect you from disease, no dieting required. "Fitness is achievable, and may do more to improve health than simply losing weight," says Steven Blair, PED, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina and a leading expert on the benefits of exercise among the overweight. In fact, a recent study from the university tracked 2,600 people age 60 and older for a 12-year period, and found that fit overweight people outlive unfit normal-weight people. (Score one for me!) However, if you're overweight and it hurts just to walk up and down stairs, weight loss may be called for; obese women are 4 times more likely to develop knee osteoarthritis than normal-weight women.
Cholesterol and inflammation: A total cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL or more, an HDL reading of less than 40 mg/dL, or triglyceride levels above 150 mg all point to trouble. Being overweight tends to increase cholesterol, and losing weight can help lower total and LDL levels, while raising HDL levels, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (So can increasing your daily activity if you're sedentary.)
Many experts feel that your rate of systemic inflammation, as defined by the results of a C-reactive protein (CRP) test, is an even stronger indicator of heart disease risk. Being overweight raises your risk of inflammation.
Posted by Lisa at 07:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack