On Friday morning I was schooled with my own advice. As a Team Beachbody Coach, I often tell people that they need to prepare for their journey of eating right and exercise. You need to make sure you eat 5 small meals per day. You need to stock the house with healthy foods, prepare snacks to take with you, etc...
Well, this past Friday I really annoyed myself by not following my own advice. I had gotten out of the habit of packing a mid-morning snack for myself when the weather turned cooler. Park trips with the kids were dwindling down and any errands I had to do were short and sweet. I always made it back in time for my snack. But this day I my husband took off from work and wanted me to visit Home Depot with him. Well our Home Depot is about 20 min away, but I still thought we'd make it back in time, so I just packed snacks for the kids. After looking at all the mirrors, toilets, lighting (were giving our powder room a makeover) the quick trip was extended. Then my husband had an idea to take the kids to the park afterwards. At first it seemed like a good idea, but as each minute ticked by my stomach was growling and the smoothie I had for breakfast was wearing thin. I really wanted to do the park and be happy about it, but I was starving! I should have insisted that we stop home first so I can grab and apple and a handful of almonds, but I didn't want to delay us. What a mistake that was. By the time we reached the park, I was hungry, chilly, grumpy, you name it. I was annoyed with myself for not being prepared. I teach people to prepare themselves and I didn't do it.
Well, I reached the point of being famished by the time we left, and now I had a cranky 2 year old to deal with too. Luckily, I still had some Shakeology left (was waiting for a new shipment), and I was able to blend up a fast lunch for myself. I don't think anything has ever been so welcomed before.
So my valuable lesson that I learned that day was to get back in the habit of being prepared with snacks. You never know what the day will bring and if you may get delayed. I didn't want to be tempted with stopping at Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's because I knew that I was so hungry I wouldn't make good choices. Did you ever get like that?
I'm going to make sure that I keep one or two protein bars in my glove compartment. I'm also going to make a snack to-go like I do for my kids. What's worked for me in the past is something like an apple or pear with 1/4 cup of nuts, or instead of nuts a Kraft low-fat cheese stick. Even a half of a peanut butter & all fruit spread on whole wheat bread would be a good choice.
It just goes to show you that even the "pros" mess up sometimes, but mistakes are a necessary tool for learning.
I'd love to hear from you:) Feel free to leave a comment here or email me at fitwithjessica@live.com
Showing posts with label healthy snacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy snacks. Show all posts
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Jessica's Healthy Whole Wheat Muffins
This muffin recipe makes a great snack to for your kids. They're lower in fat and sugar than most muffins, and you can make them plain or add blueberries, cranberries or whatever you wanted.
I made these the other day and added blueberries to half of them. This recipe will make 12 muffins:
•1/4 cup oil
•1 egg
•1 cup milk (fat-free)
•1/3 cup brown sugar
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
In a large bowl combine the oil, egg, milk, sugar and salt. Mix it very well with a fork or wire whisk. Measure in the baking powder and flour. Mix again until moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into a dozen muffin cups sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from the pan.
If you want to add blueberries, gently fold in 1cup frozen or fresh blueberries before adding to the muffin cups.
These muffins aren't going to be sweet at all. My kids love them warm and with a little butter on them. I would love to hear how they turn out for you. Leave me a comment or send me an email to fitwithjessica@live.com
I made these the other day and added blueberries to half of them. This recipe will make 12 muffins:
•1/4 cup oil
•1 egg
•1 cup milk (fat-free)
•1/3 cup brown sugar
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
In a large bowl combine the oil, egg, milk, sugar and salt. Mix it very well with a fork or wire whisk. Measure in the baking powder and flour. Mix again until moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into a dozen muffin cups sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from the pan.
If you want to add blueberries, gently fold in 1cup frozen or fresh blueberries before adding to the muffin cups.
These muffins aren't going to be sweet at all. My kids love them warm and with a little butter on them. I would love to hear how they turn out for you. Leave me a comment or send me an email to fitwithjessica@live.com
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Healthy snacks for watching TV
I don't know what it is about watching sports on TV that makes us want to snack? You would think it would it would do the opposite and make us want to get moving, uh, no. So how do you take what seems to be a centuries old tradition and make it healthier? Read the article below:
10 Healthy Snacks for Couch Time
By Joe Wilkes
Fall is upon us, which means that the new TV season has begun, baseball is heading into the postseason, and football is starting up. The weather's getting cooler, and the couch will soon call for you to lie down on it with a warm blanket. Now, keep in mind we're not encouraging any couch potato behavior. We'd prefer you pop in a P90X video and use the couch as a towel rack. But we're all human, and it's almost impossible to resist the siren song of a playoff game or the return of Glee or Dancing with the Stars. Just because you're taking a couple of hours off to flatten both your gluteal muscles and your sofa cushions doesn't mean you have to stuff yourself with chips, cookies, or other bagged diet-killers. Here are 10 tasty and healthy snacks that are great for TV downtime.
1.Popcorn. It's not just for the movie theater anymore. In fact, you're better off skipping it at the movie theater, because a bucket of oil-popped movie theater popcorn can contain as much fat as three to five double cheeseburgers. But air-popped popcorn is a pretty benign treat. Three cups of popcorn have just 93 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Air-popped popcorn doesn't have much nutritive value outside of the energy you may get from the calories and some dietary fiber, but it can satisfy your munchies without getting you too far off the diet path. The best popcorn comes from your own hot-air popper—and with no additional fat or salt, unless you add it later. If you're going for microwave convenience, make sure you read the label carefully. Even some of the "healthy" brands contain a fair amount of fat and salt. And many microwave brands contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to cancer. You might be better off making your own microwave popcorn. Just put 1/4 cup of popcorn into a brown lunch bag, fold the top over tightly, and microwave at your usual popcorn setting. Try to avoid salt and butter. Instead, enjoy your favorite herbs or a squeeze of lemon juice with some garlic powder or cayenne pepper.
2.Bean dip. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, and they don't have tons of calories. One cup of canned pintos only has 206 calories; it also has 12 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber—almost half of your recommended daily allowance. And beans are incredibly filling. Even prepackaged bean dips are pretty decent (of course, always check the label for the fat and sodium contents). You can make your own dips, hot or cold, by food-processing canned black or pinto beans (my favorites are the ones canned with jalapeños) and adding water to create your desired consistency. You can also use fat-free refried beans. You could add some chopped bell or jalapeño peppers, green onions, or canned corn to add a crunchy texture, or some chopped tomatoes for a little extra flavor and vitamins. Instead of fatty fried tortilla chips, use baked chips or, better yet some crunchy raw veggies like carrots, celery, sliced bell peppers, broccoli, or cauliflower.
3.Salsa. This is the perfect mix of tomatoes, onions, and peppers—all members of the top tier of Michi's Ladder. And the great thing is that salsa is so low in calories and so high in fiber, you can basically eat it by the cupful and not gain weight. If you buy it at the store though, watch out for the salt content—that's the secret ingredient in most canned and jarred salsas. You're much better off making your own pico de gallo: Just dice tomatoes and onions and mix with as much minced jalapeño and/or garlic as you can stand. Add fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste and toss the veggies in the juice of two limes. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. You can eat it with baked chips or the crunchy veggies that also go great with the bean dip. The salsa and the bean dip also complement each other well, for the double dippers among us.
4.Crispbread crackers. These crunchy treats (including Wasa® and Rykrisp® brands) have around 30 calories a cracker (depending on the brand, flavor, and style) and a couple of grams of fiber in each one. For the Top Chef in you, they make great bases for some healthy ingredients from your refrigerator. Try a dollop of fat-free cottage cheese with a dash of hot sauce; a slice of turkey breast and roasted red pepper; a "schmear" of hummus and a couple of pitted olives; or a slice of tomato and a fresh basil leaf with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Even the pico de gallo recipe above with some shredded nonfat cheddar will make a tasty cracker-topping treat. By being creative with some wholesome ingredients, you'll forget all about the halcyon days of eating Ritz® crackers washed down with aerosol cheese right from the can (sigh).
5.Pistachios. Pistachios are a great heart-healthy snack full of antioxidants, fiber, and unsaturated fats (the good kind). A 1/2-cup serving (with the shells, assuming you don't eat them) only has 170 calories, with 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber; however, that serving also has 14 grams of fat, so don't go nuts chowing down on a whole bag. Walnuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, and other nuts all have their nutritional upsides, too, but the reason I think pistachios make great snacks is the shells. The shells are difficult to open, so rather than shoveling handfuls of pre-shelled nuts down your throat, eat in-the-shell pistachios so you're forced to slow down. Keep an eye on the sodium content when you buy the nuts. Either buy unsalted or low-salt versions. And forget those disgusting pink ones that taste like lipstick. Who needs to leave hot-pink fingerprints all over the couch? A lot of stores also sell flavored versions that aren't too salty—chili-lime is one of my favorites.
6.Edamame. The Japanese have one of the healthiest diets in the world, and soybeans are a great staple of that diet. Edamame—steamed or boiled soybean pods—contain all the essential amino acids, many essential fatty acids, and soy isoflavones. And a half-cup of beans only has 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 9 grams of carbs, with 8 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Truly one of nature's perfect foods. And like pistachios, you can serve them in their shells, which slows down your face-stuffing process, giving you time to feel full before you've overeaten.
7.Mini-pizzas. Forget the frozen food section. Anyone with a toaster oven or a broiler pan can be his or her own Mama Celeste or Chef Boyardee®. Just take half of a whole wheat English muffin (67 calories; 2 grams of fiber), add a little low-sodium tomato-based spaghetti or pizza sauce and a sprinkle of shredded low-fat or nonfat mozzarella cheese, and voilà—tasty and healthy pizza! As with the crispbread crackers, your imagination's the only limit for toppings. Fresh herbs like basil and oregano are delicious. Peppers, mushrooms, and low-sodium anchovies are popular and fairly healthy. Just stay away from processed meats like pepperoni, which are often loaded with saturated fat, carcinogenic nitrates, and sodium.
8.Pita chips and hummus. Now you can open a Greek taverna in your living room. While some stores sell premade pita chips, you can easily make your own with very little fuss and muss (and usually with much less fat and salt). A large whole wheat pita has 170 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat. To make chips, cut around the edge of the pita with a small paring knife, so you have two discs. Then with a knife or pizza cutter, cut the discs into eighths or smaller chip-size pieces. Arrange the pieces on an aluminum-foil-covered cookie sheet, lightly spray with some olive oil cooking spray, and sprinkle with a little salt, low-fat Parmesan cheese, or your favorite dried herbs. Cook in oven or toaster oven until lightly browned and crispy, then serve with your favorite hummus or dip recipe.
9.Relish tray. Some of my favorite snacks are pickled or brined anything—cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers, artichoke hearts, carrots, okra, baby corn, cornichons, cocktail onions, olives, sauerkraut, kimchi . . . even herring and hard-boiled eggs! Extremely low in calories, a plate full of pickled veggies on the coffee table is great for snacking. But watch out for the sodium! Certain store brands have more than others. The more ambitious might try marinating their fresh veggies in vinegar and a little heart-healthy olive oil to control the amount of salt involved. If you use salty brands, you might consider rinsing them to get rid of some of the salt, or mixing them on a plate with some fresh, unpickled vegetables to mitigate your salt intake.
10.Deviled eggs. Eggs, once considered a scourge of the heart-healthy diet, are now getting a better rap. What's indisputable is the health value of the whites. If you take the yolks out of the equation, the egg whites prove to be small, healthy, high-protein delivery systems suitable for all kinds of nutritious creamy fillings. Cut a bunch of hard-boiled eggs in half, lengthwise, and scoop out and discard the yolks. (See the Yolkless Deviled Eggs recipe elsewhere in this newsletter!) Try mixing some nonfat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or nonfat cream cheese with your favorite flavorings and spices, then blending or food-processing until creamy. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites where the yolks used to be, and you'll have a high-protein snack without all the fat and cholesterol. You can also use the empty egg whites as scoops for your favorite healthy dip or salsa.
Of course, you can enjoy even more snack food if you can work some exercise into your TV watching. During playoff season, don't just save the stretching for the seventh inning. Try some exercises like P90X X Stretch throughout the game. Or if you're settling in for a night in front of the tube, make a deal with yourself—you can veg out and watch The Office and 30 Rock if you turn off Jay Leno. If you watch a show like Hawaii Five-O that motivates you to kick some butt, schedule some INSANITY time immediately after the show while your adrenaline's still pumping. Or if, like me, you've become enslaved to your DVR or TiVo®, use it to your advantage and do a cooldown stretch to your favorite show as a reward for a well-done workout.
10 Healthy Snacks for Couch Time
By Joe Wilkes
Fall is upon us, which means that the new TV season has begun, baseball is heading into the postseason, and football is starting up. The weather's getting cooler, and the couch will soon call for you to lie down on it with a warm blanket. Now, keep in mind we're not encouraging any couch potato behavior. We'd prefer you pop in a P90X video and use the couch as a towel rack. But we're all human, and it's almost impossible to resist the siren song of a playoff game or the return of Glee or Dancing with the Stars. Just because you're taking a couple of hours off to flatten both your gluteal muscles and your sofa cushions doesn't mean you have to stuff yourself with chips, cookies, or other bagged diet-killers. Here are 10 tasty and healthy snacks that are great for TV downtime.
1.Popcorn. It's not just for the movie theater anymore. In fact, you're better off skipping it at the movie theater, because a bucket of oil-popped movie theater popcorn can contain as much fat as three to five double cheeseburgers. But air-popped popcorn is a pretty benign treat. Three cups of popcorn have just 93 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Air-popped popcorn doesn't have much nutritive value outside of the energy you may get from the calories and some dietary fiber, but it can satisfy your munchies without getting you too far off the diet path. The best popcorn comes from your own hot-air popper—and with no additional fat or salt, unless you add it later. If you're going for microwave convenience, make sure you read the label carefully. Even some of the "healthy" brands contain a fair amount of fat and salt. And many microwave brands contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to cancer. You might be better off making your own microwave popcorn. Just put 1/4 cup of popcorn into a brown lunch bag, fold the top over tightly, and microwave at your usual popcorn setting. Try to avoid salt and butter. Instead, enjoy your favorite herbs or a squeeze of lemon juice with some garlic powder or cayenne pepper.
2.Bean dip. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, and they don't have tons of calories. One cup of canned pintos only has 206 calories; it also has 12 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber—almost half of your recommended daily allowance. And beans are incredibly filling. Even prepackaged bean dips are pretty decent (of course, always check the label for the fat and sodium contents). You can make your own dips, hot or cold, by food-processing canned black or pinto beans (my favorites are the ones canned with jalapeños) and adding water to create your desired consistency. You can also use fat-free refried beans. You could add some chopped bell or jalapeño peppers, green onions, or canned corn to add a crunchy texture, or some chopped tomatoes for a little extra flavor and vitamins. Instead of fatty fried tortilla chips, use baked chips or, better yet some crunchy raw veggies like carrots, celery, sliced bell peppers, broccoli, or cauliflower.
3.Salsa. This is the perfect mix of tomatoes, onions, and peppers—all members of the top tier of Michi's Ladder. And the great thing is that salsa is so low in calories and so high in fiber, you can basically eat it by the cupful and not gain weight. If you buy it at the store though, watch out for the salt content—that's the secret ingredient in most canned and jarred salsas. You're much better off making your own pico de gallo: Just dice tomatoes and onions and mix with as much minced jalapeño and/or garlic as you can stand. Add fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste and toss the veggies in the juice of two limes. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. You can eat it with baked chips or the crunchy veggies that also go great with the bean dip. The salsa and the bean dip also complement each other well, for the double dippers among us.
4.Crispbread crackers. These crunchy treats (including Wasa® and Rykrisp® brands) have around 30 calories a cracker (depending on the brand, flavor, and style) and a couple of grams of fiber in each one. For the Top Chef in you, they make great bases for some healthy ingredients from your refrigerator. Try a dollop of fat-free cottage cheese with a dash of hot sauce; a slice of turkey breast and roasted red pepper; a "schmear" of hummus and a couple of pitted olives; or a slice of tomato and a fresh basil leaf with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Even the pico de gallo recipe above with some shredded nonfat cheddar will make a tasty cracker-topping treat. By being creative with some wholesome ingredients, you'll forget all about the halcyon days of eating Ritz® crackers washed down with aerosol cheese right from the can (sigh).
5.Pistachios. Pistachios are a great heart-healthy snack full of antioxidants, fiber, and unsaturated fats (the good kind). A 1/2-cup serving (with the shells, assuming you don't eat them) only has 170 calories, with 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber; however, that serving also has 14 grams of fat, so don't go nuts chowing down on a whole bag. Walnuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, and other nuts all have their nutritional upsides, too, but the reason I think pistachios make great snacks is the shells. The shells are difficult to open, so rather than shoveling handfuls of pre-shelled nuts down your throat, eat in-the-shell pistachios so you're forced to slow down. Keep an eye on the sodium content when you buy the nuts. Either buy unsalted or low-salt versions. And forget those disgusting pink ones that taste like lipstick. Who needs to leave hot-pink fingerprints all over the couch? A lot of stores also sell flavored versions that aren't too salty—chili-lime is one of my favorites.
6.Edamame. The Japanese have one of the healthiest diets in the world, and soybeans are a great staple of that diet. Edamame—steamed or boiled soybean pods—contain all the essential amino acids, many essential fatty acids, and soy isoflavones. And a half-cup of beans only has 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 9 grams of carbs, with 8 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Truly one of nature's perfect foods. And like pistachios, you can serve them in their shells, which slows down your face-stuffing process, giving you time to feel full before you've overeaten.
7.Mini-pizzas. Forget the frozen food section. Anyone with a toaster oven or a broiler pan can be his or her own Mama Celeste or Chef Boyardee®. Just take half of a whole wheat English muffin (67 calories; 2 grams of fiber), add a little low-sodium tomato-based spaghetti or pizza sauce and a sprinkle of shredded low-fat or nonfat mozzarella cheese, and voilà—tasty and healthy pizza! As with the crispbread crackers, your imagination's the only limit for toppings. Fresh herbs like basil and oregano are delicious. Peppers, mushrooms, and low-sodium anchovies are popular and fairly healthy. Just stay away from processed meats like pepperoni, which are often loaded with saturated fat, carcinogenic nitrates, and sodium.
8.Pita chips and hummus. Now you can open a Greek taverna in your living room. While some stores sell premade pita chips, you can easily make your own with very little fuss and muss (and usually with much less fat and salt). A large whole wheat pita has 170 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat. To make chips, cut around the edge of the pita with a small paring knife, so you have two discs. Then with a knife or pizza cutter, cut the discs into eighths or smaller chip-size pieces. Arrange the pieces on an aluminum-foil-covered cookie sheet, lightly spray with some olive oil cooking spray, and sprinkle with a little salt, low-fat Parmesan cheese, or your favorite dried herbs. Cook in oven or toaster oven until lightly browned and crispy, then serve with your favorite hummus or dip recipe.
9.Relish tray. Some of my favorite snacks are pickled or brined anything—cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers, artichoke hearts, carrots, okra, baby corn, cornichons, cocktail onions, olives, sauerkraut, kimchi . . . even herring and hard-boiled eggs! Extremely low in calories, a plate full of pickled veggies on the coffee table is great for snacking. But watch out for the sodium! Certain store brands have more than others. The more ambitious might try marinating their fresh veggies in vinegar and a little heart-healthy olive oil to control the amount of salt involved. If you use salty brands, you might consider rinsing them to get rid of some of the salt, or mixing them on a plate with some fresh, unpickled vegetables to mitigate your salt intake.
10.Deviled eggs. Eggs, once considered a scourge of the heart-healthy diet, are now getting a better rap. What's indisputable is the health value of the whites. If you take the yolks out of the equation, the egg whites prove to be small, healthy, high-protein delivery systems suitable for all kinds of nutritious creamy fillings. Cut a bunch of hard-boiled eggs in half, lengthwise, and scoop out and discard the yolks. (See the Yolkless Deviled Eggs recipe elsewhere in this newsletter!) Try mixing some nonfat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or nonfat cream cheese with your favorite flavorings and spices, then blending or food-processing until creamy. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites where the yolks used to be, and you'll have a high-protein snack without all the fat and cholesterol. You can also use the empty egg whites as scoops for your favorite healthy dip or salsa.
Of course, you can enjoy even more snack food if you can work some exercise into your TV watching. During playoff season, don't just save the stretching for the seventh inning. Try some exercises like P90X X Stretch throughout the game. Or if you're settling in for a night in front of the tube, make a deal with yourself—you can veg out and watch The Office and 30 Rock if you turn off Jay Leno. If you watch a show like Hawaii Five-O that motivates you to kick some butt, schedule some INSANITY time immediately after the show while your adrenaline's still pumping. Or if, like me, you've become enslaved to your DVR or TiVo®, use it to your advantage and do a cooldown stretch to your favorite show as a reward for a well-done workout.
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