10 Stupid Ways We Mess Up Weight Loss

Aug 24th, 2005

Here’s an interesting article from ediets.com you might be interested in.

What to do with fresh garden tomatoes?

Aug 19th, 2005

I hope you’re having several opportunities this summer to eat home grown tomatoes. There’s nothing like them. You do know not to refrigerate them, right? They lose their flavor and the texture changes.

As I write this, I’m eating a fabulous cold salad I concocted this morning using a whole tomato and a variety of other vegetables. It took me about 10 minutes to prepare. It’s so good, I thought you’d like to know how to make it too.

When I opened the refrigerator to decide what to prepare for lunch, I knew I wanted to make the meal veggie-rich because I haven’t been eating as many vegetables as I’d like. I also remembered that I had a lot of fresh vegetables on hand. So this cold tomato-vegetable salad was the perfect choice. I knew it would taste great.

Fresh Tomato-Veggie Summer Salad

Directions:

1. Include any of the ingredients listed below (or add your own).
2. Cut into bite-sized chunks.
3. Use whatever amount of each ingredient that is pleasing to your palate.
4. Stir it all together. Add salt and pepper if desired. I’m enjoying the fresh flavors without any added seasonings, and it’s fabulous.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Green, yellow, or red peppers
Green onion or diced yellow or purple onion
Jalapeno pepper – small amount
Cilantro (a handful)
Cottage cheese
It may sound odd but I added a handful of red grapes I wanted to use up. The occasional sweet burst of flavor was enjoyable. Sometimes I include fresh pineapple and lime juice. This little salad can be modified to suit the ingredients you have on hand. It’s very versatile. It even tastes great without the cottage cheese.

Comments Please

Do you have suggestions or recipes for using homegrown tomatoes, zucchini, or other garden produce? We all need yummy ideas for adding more vegetables to our daily meals. If you know of any healthy, simple to prepare recipes, click on the comment link below and tell us all about it.

What to Feed Kids and Adults Enroute to After-School Activities

Aug 12th, 2005

One of our members sent me this email. I have some suggestions, and I am putting it out to the group for your comments. Cheryl, I have 2 daughters age 7 and 9. They are on the swim team here in Lawrence and practice 5 nights per week from 5:45 till 7. We get home around 7:30. They get out of school at 3 then attend the After School Program till 5:15 when I pick them up to go to swim practice. They get a snack in the After School Program (not much). I’m wondering what I can feed them in the car from school to swim practice that will be nutritious (rather than drive-up food). Then, when we get home at 7:30 that seems too late for dinner especially in winter. I guess I’m just after some ideas… Thanks. —————————- My Comments and Suggestions Wow, 5 nights a week. I would guess that juggling this schedule could be a little hard on you. Having healthy convenient foods made up ahead of time will help you manage this busy schedule. In fact the recommendations I’m making are true for anybody who needs a healthy snack – kids or adults. I’m glad that you’re looking for healthy options. Healthy options can be just as convenient as junk food, if you prepare them a little ahead. Since your girls be swimming, I’m assuming you’re wanting ideas for light snacks. You can think of their snacks as mini meals. In other words, snacks can contain foods that might be eaten at regular meal times but are just packaged in snack-size packages. Here are some ideas:

• Pre-portioned baggies of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits
• Baggies of fruit (grapes, cut up apples, pineapple, etc)
• Baggies of cut up veggies with or without dressing
• Baggies of dry breakfast cereals with nuts and seeds added
• String Cheese (individually wrapped) or cubed cheese with whole grain crackers like Triscuits
• Cottage cheese (with optional chopped raw vegetables or fruit in it)
• Cup of yogurt
• Hard pretzels – the large ones
• Half a sandwich
• Mix up a sandwich spread like tuna or egg salad that is always at-the-ready and fill pita pockets for quick, on-the-go snacks

The dinner meal can fill out the rest of the nutrients they may have missed during the day. Thinking back on the day you might ask: Did they get their fruits and veggies in? Did they eat some whole grain foods like oatmeal or breakfast cereals? Cereal can make a quick nutritious evening meal too. As a matter of fact, any breakfast meal can can make a quick evening meal – especially if it adds nutrients missing from the day’s meals and mini meals. I like to make these kinds of snack kits on Sunday so I’m ready for the week ahead. That might work for you too. To streamline the process you can designate one spot in the refrigerator as snacks and foods for these two little athletes. You might put their things in a pull out container so it’s easy to assemble their mini meals and snacks. And…here’s a thought – have them assemble their own snack packs. That would be fun, and it would make them more likely to eat them. They’ll also be learning healthy habits that will serve them well in the future. To streamline your meal and snack processes even more, you can make up a weekly lists of snacks and meals you plan to have. These lists can be used again and again saving you precious time and struggle over thinking about what to have to eat. Keep them in a kitchen folder with your favorite recipes, meal plans, and snack ideas. Comments Please I know that a lot of our readers have great suggestions to add to these. Please go to the comment link below and tell us about your suggestions. You can feel free to include any identifying information you are willing to share like your name, city. Or you can choose to remain anonymous. Thanks! Cheryl

Heart Health – free newsletter

Aug 9th, 2005

If you’re managing a heart condition (e.g., heart disease, high blood pressure) or know someone else who is, you might be interested in the free e-newsletter offered through the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Here are some sample topics covered:

• Cholesterol
• Healthy Eating
• Exercise
• Keep on Top of High Blood Pressure
• How the Heart Works
• A Healthier Restaurant Menu
• Who’s At Risk for a Heart Attack?
• Use Medications Safely

If you’re interested, you can visit the site, view the Tip of the Day Archives, and sign up to receive the short daily messages. I signed up so I could evaluate them. They’re very good–short, interesting, informative, and well written. They can provide information and support for you or your loved one…so you don’t need to go it alone.

Making Breakfast Meal Kits – revisited

Aug 9th, 2005

Remember the article I wrote about making breakfast meal kits? I received these responses from (as well as the three comments posted with the original article). They offer some good ideas.

Cheryl, I used to skip breakfast because of lack of time, until…my wife and I discovered fruit smoothies! Throw some fruit, yogurt, milk, in a blender and VIOLA! We have also started adding things like wheat germ and flax seed (grind your flax seed in a coffee grinder and keep it in the fridge). The list of fruit and healthy things to add is endless and this all takes oh about a minute (maybe more if you must peel your fruit).

__________

I usually have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the mornings. It has the protein so I don’t get hungry before lunch time. If I eat cereal I’m starving before lunch. I can also eat it on my commute to work, and it isn’t messy.

__________

Cheryl,

More on your ‘breakfast kits’ idea.

When I used to travel extensively (in a pre-KSU lifetime), I was often faced with the ‘greasy & fast’ or ‘nothing’ for breakfast in my rush from hotel to plant visit. (Hotel restaurants are notorious for being expensive & slow.)

So I carried from home (in my luggage) my scoop of breakfast cereal (raisin bran was a favorite) inside a heavy zipper-type plastic bag. I had also added powdered non-fat dry milk double the equivalent to the cup of milk I would normally add. And don’t forget the plastic spoon.

Just before leaving for my day at the plant, I would run tap water (hot or cold, choice, depending on the cereal) into the bag & ’squish it around’ a bit, then eat.

And for those who don’t like/can’t eat milk, here’s another idea. Especially useful when you are traveling but there is a vending machine nearby that sells juices but not milk.

Orange juice works great on breakfast cereal. Many people think it sounds strange, but most people like it once they try it. Get your fruit vitamins with your cereal, & even the extra calcium if you buy the right brand.

Comments Please
Do you have breakfast ideas? Write your comments in the link below.

Teach Tots Healthy Habits

Aug 4th, 2005

If you have a preschooler at home, it’s not too early to start teaching him or her about eating right and being active! That’s the advice from researchers at the Children’s Hospital at Boston, who studied whether or not programs aimed at teaching tots healthy lifestyle habits really worked. Article here.

Diabetes Resources

Aug 4th, 2005

It’s tough to go it alone when you have a condition like diabetes. It helps to have great resources. Here are some offered or recommended by the American Diabetes Association:

Home page – American Diabetes Association
Books for Healthy Living
Diabetes Tips enewsletters

Resources from CareMark Building Better Health:
Diabetes Center

Comments Please

If you know of other good resources for people with diabetes, click on the “comment” link below and tell us about them.

Women and Smoking: A Dangerous Combination

Aug 3rd, 2005

I normally don’t focus on the risk side of health behaviors because that turns so many people off (and activates their resistance) so they stop listening. I prefer to concentrate on the positive health side of healthy choices. On occasion, though, I think it’s important to face the risks – the downside of our varous lifestyle choices.

Today an article caught my eye about the risks of smoking for women and I thought at least a handful of you would like to know about it. To read it, go here.