Mid-Week Fitness Motivation

Exercise does a body good.  Boost your mood with exercise.  Have a great workout!

Helping your children create healthy habits - Part I

Today I saw my first harbinger of fall - school bus drivers practicing their routes since school will start next week.  This got me into thinking about what you can do to incorporate fitness with your children during this transition.

Here is some ways you might be able to spend a little more time with your children while incorporating an activity that is good for your health.

• Walking school buses - You and other families in your area (sidewalks permitting) could decide to walk to school together instead of getting on the bus.  This way you can get a walk before work and find out what your child is working on in their school day. 
• Riding a bike - Depending on where you live, riding a bike a great idea with your kids.  Older children can do this own their own.  It is important to incorporate healthy habits while you are young. 

If you just live too far and your child has to bus to school, you take a walk in the afternoon before heading home.  I think this is a great way to spend more time with your children while creating healthy habits.  Kids grow up fast. It is important to spend as much quality time with them as you can.

Recipe of the Week - Toasted Quinoa and Cabbage

I saw this recipe in Fitsugar.com and just had to try it.  It is so delicious.

Here is a picture of my recipe.

Here is the link to the full recipe - Toasted Quinoa and Cabbage

Mid Week Fitness Motivation

It is the middle of summer.  You have been on vacation as well as multiple picnics with lots of tasty treats.  You have cut down on your workouts.  Okay, I get it.  Now it is time to refocus.  You will work out today.  You are focused on your goals.  You are doing a great job.  Work hard.

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

Today, I have a guest blogger who is going to explain about CSAs?  I am always looking for ways to support farmers and eat local.  This is a great way to get fresh, in season produce if you don't have a place to grow your garden.  Thanks for the entry Edonna Koon.

Tomatoes

A CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, allows you to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.

Here’s how it works, a farmer offers “shares” to the public. The shares are boxes of vegetables, fruits or other farm products. You purchase a share (membership) and get a box (bag, basket) of seasonal/local produce each week throughout the farming season.

Squash

This arrangement benefits both the consumer and the farmer. The consumer gets food straight from the farm, can visit the farm itself and gets to try new veggies and find out how to prepare them. The farmer gets money early in the season to help cash flow and can market there own product.

June 7^th I got to visit, “Love is Love Farm” here in Atlanta, GA to see how a CSA works and how the food is grown. What they have managed to do on 1.5 acres is nothing short of amazing- take a look for yourself (http://loveislovefarm.com). The operation has tomatoes, squash, mushrooms and more.

Mushrooms are grown on and around the tree.  

I could go on forever but to get more info on CSAs for your own edification check out this site, http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ .

Recipe of the Week - Strawberry and Raspberry Yogurt Pops

I like to have low calorie frozen treats.  I make my own to keep it clean.  All you need a popsicle holder.  I buy the inexpensive, regular kind not the new gizmo that will freeze your pops in 20 minutes; either will work.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces non-fat greek yogurt, plain
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• Stevia to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)

Slightly mash strawberries and raspberries.  Mix in yogurt and stevia.  This will make 8 pops.  Freeze until hard.

Enjoy!

Mid-Week Fitness Motivation

Pull ups.  This is a complete sentence that feels me with dread.  This is the most difficult exercise in the gym for me.  I could not complete more than 3 with a 100 pound assist when I started.  Well, I have not given up. I put them in my rotation about every other week. I now can complete 15 reps with a 70 pound assist.  My goal is to be able to complete one perfect pull up without an assist by October 2013.

Don't give up because it is hard.  You can do it. You will do it if you continue to work hard. Enjoy your workout.

Eating Healthy While on Vacation

Donna and I took a quick trip over the 4th of July holiday.  We headed to Panama City Beach in Florida.  Of course, it rained the majority of the time we were there but at least it was rain at the beach. Eating healthy while on vacation can be a challenge without a plan.  My number one goal for this vacation besides frolicking on the beach was to have a room with a kitchen. Having a kitchen means we have a better control over what we eat.

Here are some tips for eating healthy while on vacation:

1.  If possible, get a room with a kitchen.  This way you can cook the majority of your meals.
2.  Remember to stay active.  Each day we worked out.  The day is rained hard we used the hotel's gym but on the rest of the days we walked on the beach at least 3 1/2 miles per day.  That was fun because we got to beach comb.
3.  Enjoy yourself! It is vacation.  I ate popcorn at the movie theater.  I ate frozen yogurt with peanut butter chips on the night of the fireworks.  I even ate jelly beans when we decided to watch a Walking Dead marathon.

Here is one of my favorite quick lunches.  I hope you enjoy the video.

Ingredients:
4 slices of spelt bread or sprouted whole grain bread
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
2 oz of low fat cheddar cheese, finely grated, divided
1/2 medium granny smith apple or other tart apple, halved, cored and thinly sliced

Brush bread with olive oil.  On other side place mustard, 1 oz of cheese and arrange apple (divide evenly between the two sandwiches).

Heat a nonstick skillet over a medium low heat.  Place sandwiches in pan and cook until light brown on each side.  This takes about 6 minutes.  Cut sandwich in half and enjoy!

What is your Favorite Exercise in the Weight Room?

My favorite exercise in the weight room - SQUATS.  I could squat all day - barbell squats, hack squats, front squats, sumo squats or goblet squats - whether one leg, BOSU or balance ball doesn't matter.  I won't complain.

Below is a video of a goblet squat.  Squats are a great exercise to get shapely legs and a nice looking booty.  What is your favorite exercise in the weight room?

This week's recipe - Rotini with Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad

I don't really like cooking over a hot stove during the summer.  I try and make a few different types of salad so I don't get bored.  This is an easy salad that is quite filling.

Rotini with cucumber, tomato and feta salad

• Multigrain or whole wheat Rotini Pasta Dry  (2 oz), 57 g
• Tomatoes - 1 medium whole (2-3/5" dia)
• Cucumber - Peeled, raw, 1 cup, pared, chopped
• Generic - Jalepeno Pepper, Fresh, 1 pepper (14g)
• Generic - Poblano Pepper, 0.5 pepper
• Oil - Olive, 1 tablespoon
• Spices - Salt, table, 1 dash
• Spices - Pepper, black, 1 dash
• Cheese - Feta, 2 oz

Cook pasta according to directions.  Set aside.

Chopped vegetables and add dry spices.  Toss in pasta and olive oil and serve.

Serves 4

Enjoy.

Mid-Week Fitness Motivation

It's hot and humid.  You don't feel like going outside for a walk due to the heat.  Well, get over it.  You are in charge.  You will work out today. Have a great workout.

Employer Wellness Programs to keep Employee’s Fit

I like to fancy myself an HR professional who is a fitness aficionado.  I have a real passion for how employers use wellness programs to contain costs on benefits.  There was an interesting article last month in The Atlantic by Celine Gounder, The Future of Getting Paid to be Healthy.

She examines how a few employers are using wellness programs to drive how much the employee pays for medical benefits.  She writes the following:

King County, Washington, was one of the first local governments to use rewards and penalties to encourage healthier behaviors. A decade ago, the county panicked as health care costs were growing at a pace of 15 percent every year. Then-executive Ron Sims convened a task force that included physicians, health care policy and legal experts, economists and labor and business leaders to develop a strategy to address health care costs from the perspective of both patients and the employers paying for their coverage. 

Sims told the Seattle Times at the time, "I refuse to sit back and allow the county and its employees to be victims of these seemingly uncontrollable cost increases. Further, I refuse to accept there are only two choices: reducing benefits to our employees and their families, or paying crippling annual increases. Tweaking the edges of the problem will no longer work." 

Out of the task force's recommendations was borne Healthy Incentives -- a voluntary wellness program for its employees and their families. While everyone receives the same medical benefits coverage, their out-of-pocket costs (deductibles and co-pays) vary according to their level of participation in the Healthy Incentives program. Those who choose not to participate receive a Bronze status, with the highest out-of-pocket costs. To attain a Gold status, with the lowest out-of-pocket costs, you need to complete a health risk assessment and complete a personal wellness plan. The individual action plans might include texting in a log of healthy activities, joining Weight Watchers at Work, attending YMCA classes to learn how to prevent diabetes through nutrition and exercise, or working with a Quit for Life coach on the phone to quit smoking. The difference between the Bronze and Gold tiers can make a difference of as much as $2,400 per year for a family of four.

When she started working for King County three years ago, Lynn Argento was automatically enrolled in the Gold tier after completing her health risk assessment. Failing to complete her personal wellness plan, Argento got bumped down to the Silver level the following year. "It was an eye opener in terms of the differences that I was paying for my deductible and co-pays," she said. "It was a big reminder that my wellness activities had a significant financial connection to what I was paying out-of-pocket." But Argento wasn't upset with King County. She was disappointed in herself. "It was pretty clearly laid out to me. I knew what I needed to do, and I didn't follow through on it," she said. 

Argento resolved to earn back her status. She runs on a treadmill during her lunch breaks at a worksite activity center, where employees can also attend yoga, tai chi, Zumba and kickboxing classes. Argento's husband is now also on her plan, which means that he too has to participate in wellness activities to earn Gold status. Argento has noticed not only the financial but also health benefits of her wellness activities. "I have a lot more stamina," she said. "I often have to sprint for a bus because I'm running late, and now I can do that without wanting to pass out when I get to the bus." 

I think this is a positive idea.  You reward folks who choose to participate in preventive medicine.  As stated by one of the participants this had an effect on her total well-being not just at work.  Does your employer have this type of incentive?  If so do you participant?  Would you participate if your employer offered this type of program?  

Recipe of the Week - Kale and Broccoli Salad over Quinoa

With the 4th of July upon, I thought I would share one of my favorite summer salads.  I can't remember where I originally saw this recipe but I have tweaked it through the years to where I think it is perfect.  I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Pacific Natural Foods - Organic Free Range Chicken Broth Low Sodium, 1 cup
• Quinoa, 1/2 cup

• Raw - Broccoli, 1.5 cup chopped (91g)
• Kale - Raw, 1.5 cup, chopped
• Peppers - Sweet, red, raw, 0.5 cup, chopped
• Generic - Jalepeno Pepper, Fresh,1 pepper 
• Fresh - Serrano Pepper,1 pepper
• Olive Oil - Extra Virgin, 2 Tablespoons
• Spices - Garlic powder, 1 tsp
• Spices - Pepper, black, 1 tsp
• Generic - Spices - Sea Salt, 0.5 tsp (5g)
• Tumeric - Spice, 0.5 tsp

Cook quinoa like rice.  Let cool.  

Chopped up vegetables.  I prefer to wash then chop the kale. I then put in a strainer and run boiling water over it to bring out the color.  Pat dry.  Add all vegetables, spices and oil is mixing bowl and toss.

Serves 4

Serving:  1/4 cup quinoa and 1 1/4 cup of vegetables 

Mid-Week Fitness Motivation

Have a fun but safe 4th of July! 

July Work Out Play List

Happy July!

Each month I refresh my play list in an effort to keep my workouts fresh.  I try to keep each playlist to one hour long so that when the music runs out that mean my work out is finished. I was feeling like I was missing a hard hitting hip hop on last month so this month my list is heavy with old school and new school hip hop with a sprinkling of pop music.  My goal for the month was to find songs with changing tempos to help me with creating intervals on cardio machines.  I will be sharing this list through Google play (its listed under July 2013 work out list) if you want to use this mix for your work outs.

Here is what I am working out with this month.

• B. O. B. Outkast
• Pass the Courvoisier (remix)  Busta Rymes
• No Church in the Wild   Jay-Z and Kanye West
• Can I Get A…  Jay-Z
• Black Skinhead  Kanye West
• Get Back Ludacris
• She Wants to Move   N.E.R.D.
• Only Girl in the World Diamond Workout Cardio Remix
• S & M (remix)  Rihanna with Britney Spears
• Womanizer  Britney Spears
• I love it  Icona Pop
• OMG  Usher
• Blurred Lines  Robin Thicke
• Go Get it  T.I.