BeANatural

What a find…BeANatural original 3 bean chips. Yes chips made from beans. After reading the label I thought I should give them a try. I think they are VERY tasty, crisp, crunchy, just the right amount of salt with excellent flavor!

BeANatural original 3 bean chips are

Good Source of Protein (6grams)
Good Source of Fiber (4grams)
100% Natural
0 grams Trans Fat
No cholesterol

So far I have only found these ships at BJ’s Wholesale Clubs.

Give them a try!

LÄRABAR

I am always on the look out for different and easy to take along snacks.  Here is one of my new favorites LÄRABAR.

LÄRABAR is a delicious blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices. Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains no more than nine ingredients. Pure and simple, just as nature intended.

LÄRABAR

I love that LÄRABAR are natural, they contain very few ingredients, most do have no added sugar, and  LÄRABAR are gluten-free. I have purchased LÄRABAR at Target and Wegmans for about $1.29/bar.  I do not eat LÄRABAR everyday, but I do like to have them on hand for snacks on the go.

I have not tried them all, but for right now my favorite flavors are Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Brownie, and Peanut Butter & Jelly.

F. Olivers Oils & Vinegars

I am not sure if you are in the Rochester, NY area, but if you are & you have not heard of or been to
F. Olivers Oils & Vinegars in Canandaigua, NY
you should check it out!

F. Olivers Oils & Vinegars
129 South Main Street
Canandaigua, NY 14424
585.396.2585

 

Kris, Mason, Anna, & I visited F. Olivers on Mother’s Day.  We all had a great time, even the kids tasted and gave their opinions and new suggestions.

I absolutely LOVE Ginger, so I knew right away that would be the first one to taste and buy!  Penelope helped us pair that with the Lime oil, an outstanding combination!

Honeyed Ginger Balsamic Vinegar

The bright clean character of ginger mellowed with delicately sweet honey gives this white balsamic the perfect taste for enjoying on its own or mixing.

Especially flavorful with salads, fruit, deserts, seafood, pork, and stir-fries.

Pairs beautifully with Heady Garlic and Fresh Pressed Persian Lime EVOOs and with Roasted Sesame Oil.

Fresh Pressed Persian Lime Olive Oil

The perfect fusion of luscious Persian Limes and ripe Mediterranean olives – pressed together!

Especially flavorful with salads, fruit, fish, seafood, and chicken. Equally delicious with savory or sweet foods.

Pairs beautifully with Creamy Coconut, Farmstand Strawberry, Sweet Rich Cherry, Royal Pomegranate, and 12 Year-Old White Balsamic Vinegars.

Let me talk about Olive Oil for a minute…. Olive Oil is a good natural source of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants.  That is GOOD news!  Olive oil has been shown to have many health benefits including the potential for lowering your risk for heart disease and cancer, and anti-inflammatory benefits that can help with diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and asthma.

Balsamic vinegar also is on the healthy choices list.  Balsamic vinegar is rich in minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium,  phosphorus,  potassium,  and manganese while it is low in sodium, saturated fat and has no cholesterol.  Balsamic vinegar is good for the heart and circulatory system and contains anti-cancer agents.

Other than a simple oil & vinegar salad dressing, I have not decided how to use my new flavorings yet, but I am looking forward to it.  F. Olivers has a few recipes available online that may inspire me to make another purchase real soon!
Stay tuned…

“It’s Your Time.” – National Women’s Health Week 2011

It’s your time!

National Women’s Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. It brings together communities, businesses, government, health organizations, and other groups in an effort to promote women’s health. The theme for 2011 is “It’s Your Time.” National Women’s Health Week empowers women to make their health a top priority. It also encourages them to take steps to improve their physical and mental health and lower their risks of certain diseases. Those steps include:

• Getting at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of both, each week
• Eating a nutritious diet
• Visiting a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings
• Avoiding risky behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt
• Paying attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress

Learn more about National Women’s Health Week.

2011 Woman Challenge

Did you know?

Women should get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of both, each week. Children and adolescents should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily.

The Office on Women’s Health is supporting the Million PALA Challenge of the President’s Challenge, a program of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, by encouraging participants and supporters of the Woman Challenge group to be physically active on a regular basis. The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) is a great way to get recognized for your accomplishment. All it takes is an almost daily commitment to physical activity for 6 out of 8 weeks. Stick with the program and you will earn an award in less than two months.

Local event:  FREE WEEK AT CURVES MENDON, NY

It’s your time!

Ladies, you need to take care of yourself. You are a pretty big deal!

 

 

Snikiddy Snacks

The snack aisle always seem to have something new, and if it is not brand new there is always something that I have never seen before.

A few weeks ago as I wandered through BJ’s I found a bag of Snikiddy Cheddar Fries.  It was a 16 oz bag for $3.59. Theses Fries are also available at Wegmans in the Nature’s Marketplace snack aisle, 4.5 oz bag on sale for $2.00.  I read the label learned that:

50% less fat than potato chips

Gluten and Wheat Free

No Preservatives

No Corn Syrup

No Trans Fats

Low in saturated fat

No hydrodgenated oils

Peanut and tree nut free

This snack is safe for Mason, nut-free, and a great option for friends that are gluten -free.  I thought it was worth a try, so I bought a bag.   After haveing them myself and loving them, great flavor and good crunch, I reccommended them to a few friends, so I thought that I would share them with you too.

Check Snikiddy out online to see their other products and get a money saving coupon.

 

Sweet Tooth + Easter Candy = A Setback. Plan Ahead!

Happy almost Easter! It is time to start getting the kid’s Easter Baskets ready and it will soon be time to go hunting for Easter eggs. If you have a sweet tooth or you are a candy lover, temptations are high right now – WATCH OUT!  Easter candy can be like potato chips, you can’t eat just one.  How many pieces of candy is enough two, three, or four pieces, maybe you don’t count?

Unfortunately, for me I am a bit of a candy lover. Chocolate is one of my weaknesses. One of my favorite Easter candies are the peanut butter eggs.

Most of you know by now that I believe in moderation not deprivation.  So I have to plan ahead…

Exercise more!  Spring is here and it is time to ramp up the routine!
Make more healthy choices.
Do not buy the candy too far in advance.
Do not buy too much candy.
Buy small versions of the candy, this will make smaller serving sizes.
Keep the candy out of sight as long as possible.
Do not open the package until the last minute.

March 2008 Newsweek published

The Eight Most Fattening Easter Candies – Here’s exactly what all those Peeps, bunnies and eggs will cost you calorie-wise.

1. Peeps. A few of these fluffy, sugar-filled treats can add up quickly. Go through a row of four bunnies and you’re at 130 calories. Peeps are fat-free but do weigh in heavy on the carb count–each little rabbit has 8 grams of sugar alone, adding up to 32 grams in a serving of four.

2. Jelly Beans. These can be your worst foe or your best friend in the Easter basket, depending on how many you eat. Each individual bean is pretty low in calorie count, with usually around 5 or 6 calories, but munching through a handful or worse, an entire bagful, of Jelly Bellys adds up quickly. The recommended 35-bean serving comes in at 140 calories from 37 grams of sugar. To avoid jelly-bean overdose, it’s probably best to grab a handful and then keep the Easter basket out of reach.

3. Cadbury Chocolate Eggs. These eggs may look tiny, but their calorie count is anything but. A handful of 12 eggs comes with 190 calories and 8 grams of fat. You might want to skip over these high-cal eggs if you come across them on the hunt.

4. Cadbury Creme Egg. It’s possibly the quintessential Easter treat, but most people won’t be surprised to find out that the creamy egg packs in the calories. The 1.2-ounce egg comes with 150 calories, 5 grams of fat and 25 grams of carbs. If you’re looking for an excuse to indulge, there is a slight silver lining: the tasty milk chocolate comes with 40mg of calcium, which is about 5 percent of the recommended daily value.

5. Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. This egg slightly edges out its creme-filled rival in the unhealthy Easter-egg competition. All three varieties of the Reese’s egg–milk chocolate, fudge and white chocolate–have a calorie count of 180. The fat content weighs in around 10 grams, double that of the Cadbury Creme Egg, with the white-chocolate egg the worst, at 11 grams. Stick to the traditional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, which, though it lacks the festive Easter element, has nearly half the calories of its egg-shaped relatives.

6. Lindt Chocolate Carrots. In a sea of eggs and bunnies, chocolate carrots are one of the more unusual Easter candy options–Lindt only started offering them seven years ago. Sadly, they have little nutritional value in common with their vegetable counterparts: a box of four carrot-shaped chocolates has 210 calories.

7. Hershey’s Hollow Milk Chocolate Egg. This might come as the biggest surprise: one hollow Hershey’s egg (4.65 ounces) has more than three times as many calories as the Cadbury Creme Egg. The shell alone has 570 calories. Start munching on the four Hershey’s kisses included inside and you’re up to a whooping 660 calories and 41 grams of fat. This may be one of the few Easter offerings that makes a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg look like health food.

8. Large Chocolate Bunny. Not surprisingly, the bunny reigns as king when it comes to Easter calories. But the calorie count may still raise a few eyebrows: the average seven-ounce rabbit clocks an impressive 1,050 calories. Smaller bunnies are better–rabbits of the one-ounce variety only rack up 140 calories.

When I have a few pieces of chocolate to saver I keep them in a special spot in the house.  Now this may sound strange, but I keep my special sweet treats in my swim suit drawer.  This is just my self reminder that if I eat them all, those swim suits will NOT fit!

Not all candy is created equal, some are higher in fat and others are higher in sugar.
NONE of them are healthy, so if this is you weakness, you can have a LITTLE.
Pick one or two pieces that you really really like and then STOP!

The AMAZING Avocado

Have I told you lately that I LOVE avocados? Well, I DO!

I realize that it is an odd fruit and you may not know how to buy them, let alone how to eat them.  Take a look at some helpful hints from The Amazing Avocado…

Storing ripe Avocados
Avocados at stages 2 – 4 can be stored at room temperature in an area with good circulation to continue their ripening.For speedier ripening, keep Avocados in a closed paper bag. To slow down ripening, refrigerate them until a few days before use.

Avocados at stages 4 – 5 can be stored in your refrigerator (36º to 40º F) for up to one week. When saving part of an Avocado for later use, cover the exposed flesh with plastic wrap to slow oxidation.

I like avocados because they are tasty, but they are also good for you! A lot of people think that avocados are not a good choice because of their high fat content, but they really have a lot to offer. Most of the fat found in an avocado is Monounsaturated fat, this is the “good fat.”  This healthy fat can help you feel full, it can help reduce “bad” cholesterol, LDL, and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. Monounsaturated fats are also believed to offer protection from some cancers, including breast & colon cancer. In addition to the healthy fat avocados are a good source of soluble & insoluble fiber, protein, and they are rich in vitamins and minerals that we need.

Each serving of Avocado (equal to one-fifth of a whole Avocado) contains a variety of vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin / Mineral	RDA	Benefits
Vitamin C	4%	antioxidant / connective tissue formation / immune system
Iron	2%	oxygen transport / immune system / prevents one type of anemia
Vitamin E	4%	antioxidant / muscular development / tissue repair
Thiamin	2%	metabolism / cardiovascular health
Riboflavin	4%	protein, carb and fat processing / skin health
Niacin	4%	digestion / skin health / nervous system
Vitamin B6	4%	nervous and immune systems / prevention of one type of anemia / oxygen transport
Folate	8%	metabolism / prevention of one type of anemia / prenatal health
Pantothenic Acid	4%	nutrient processing / red blood cell formation
Phosphorous	2%	bone health / teeth formation
Magnesium	2%	muscle and nerve function / bone health / sustains regular heartbeat
Zinc	2%	immune system / wound healing / supports reproduction and growth
Copper	2%	normal blood pressure / regulation of heart rate
Manganese	2%	bone health

(Sources: Nutrition.gov, NIH, American Cancer Society)

Avocados are also rich in potassium.  Potassium is an essential mineral and an electrolyte. Potassium plays a role in our muscle function and growth, pH balance, water balance, blood pressure, nervous & digestive systems.

The glycemic index and load of avocado are very low, due to the low sugar content and absence of starch. This often makes it an ideal fruit for diabetics and hypoglycemics.

Last summer I made lots of Wegman’s Avocado, Tomato, & Corn Salsa

2 ears of corn, shucked
2 green onions, trimmed
1 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, 1/2-inch dice
3 medium tomatoes (about 1 lb total), 1/4-inch dice
Juice and zest of 1 fresh lime (about 1 Tbsp each)
1/4 cup Wegmans Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Another good recipe from Wegmans.  Red Quinoa-Avocado Salad:

1 pkg (7 oz) Food You Feel Good About Red Quinoa (Grocery Dept), cooked per pkg directions, chilled
1 pkg (12 oz) Food You Feel Good About Just Picked and Quickly Frozen Super-Sweet  Corn, thawed
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced on the bias
2 plum tomatoes, 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, cubed small
1/2 cup Food You Feel Good About Lemon Vinaigrette (Produce Dept)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Here is a Sweet Avocado, Black Bean, & Corn Salad that I made on Saturday.  This recipe was given to me by a friend and modified a little.
black beans – canned rinsed and drained, if dried soaked and rinsed, I used 2 cans
corn – if canned drained, I used 1 bag frozen
red onion – 1 medium diced
red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers – diced, I used mini sweet peppers – about 20 of them
avocado – cubed, I used 2 avocados
tomato – cubed, I used 4 medium tomatoes
olive oil – about 1/4 cup
apple cider vinegar – about 1 tsp
red wine vinegar – about 1 tsp
sugar- less than 1/4 cup

This is a sweet salad, it tasted delicious with grilled chicken, mesquite grilled pork tenderloin, grilled polenta, quesadillas, or when mixed with Quinoa.

Here are a few recipes from The Amazing Avocado that are on my list to try:

Is Corned Beef & Cabbage a Healthy Choice?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In the United States St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17 to honor the patron saint Patrick of Ireland.

Corned beef and cabbage is a  traditional meal of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States. In Ireland a traditional meal is Bacon and Cabbage.  Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the U.S. after Irish immigrants in the northeast used corned beef instead of pork.  It is thought that corned beef was a good substitution and a cheaper alternative to Irish bacon. Cabbage has been a staple in Irish cuisine for centuries.

Cabbage is rich in vitamins and minerals and has many health benefits. Cabbage is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Fiber. Cabbage is a great source of fiber – One cup of cooked cabbage has 4 grams of fiber and one cup of raw cabbage has 2 grams of fiber.

What is corned beef?  Corned beef is beef cured or pickled in brine, it has nothing to do with corn. Here is a great article from LiveStrong.com with the Nutritional Value of Corned Beef & Cabbage

Basic Nutrition

A meal consisting of 5 oz. of corned beef and 1 cup of cooked cabbage provides 340 calories and 15 g of fat. Monitor your fat intake to ensure you do not ingest too much — eating 20 to 35 percent of your calories each day from fat should be your limit. Forty percent of the calories in a serving of corned beef and cabbage come from fat. Much of the fat in corned beef and cabbage is the dangerous type of fat; 5 g are saturated fat and 1 g is trans fat, or hydrogenated fatty acids. Both of these can increase your risk of heart disease. A serving of this dish also provides you with 10 g of carbohydrates and 19 g of protein.

Vitamins

Whether you eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day — the time of year when this dish is traditionally served — or on some other day, you’ll get a boost in your vitamin A intake. Each serving of corned beef and cabbage contains 80 percent of the daily recommended intake of this vitamin. Vitamin A provides antioxidant benefits, preventing free radical damage to your cells, tissues and organs, and it promotes the health of your eyes. Vitamin C, another antioxidant, is also found in significant amounts in corned beef and cabbage. One serving contains 40 percent of the amount you need each day. Your body requires this vitamin to make collagen, a compound found in your ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, skin and cartilage. Without enough of this vitamin, you may experience slower wound healing.

Minerals

Corned beef and cabbage is a good source of iron. This mineral helps make up red blood cells in your body, which help you get oxygen to your limbs and organs. It also becomes part of the enzymes and proteins your body uses to function correctly. Because corned beef and cabbage contains high levels of vitamin C, your body’s iron absorption is increased. You also get a small amount of calcium in corned beef and cabbage; one portion contains 8 percent of the daily recommended intake.

Considerations

Due to the way corned beef is prepared, a serving of corned beef and cabbage is very high in sodium — one serving contains almost the entire daily limit. A portion of this dish has 1,110 mg of sodium, although this amount may vary if you use lower-sodium corned beef. You may also make this dish at home, substituting a different type of beef to cut down on your sodium intake. Consuming more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day regularly can have negative health consequences.

Is corned beef & cabbage a healthy choice?  If you do your best with the other meals of the day, get some extra exercise, trim the visible fat, and drink extra water due to the high sodium content of the corned beef…and

if you look forward to this
traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal,
have a little.

MODERATION is my answer!

I’m NOT perfect, just like you

I’m NOT perfect, just like you! I was reminded of this fact yesterday when I heard Missy Elliot’s song “I’m not Perfect” on my Pandora radio.  A few lines in this song stuck with me…

And your self esteem might be low from what people say
Hold your head up high
Promise it’s gonna be ok
I’m not perfect just like you
I got problems just like you
So don’t nobody sit here and judge
I’m not perfect just like you
But it’s ok, pick yourself up
Start over again
If you try you will
You will succeed in the end (I know you will)
I’m not perfect just like you
(I’m not perfect, I’ve been through some things too)
I’m not perfect just like you

I have my good days, and my bad days.  I have days when the workouts are harder for no good reason. There are exercises that I just don’t like – squat thrusts and Tricep hovers, top the list.  There are days when “I am too busy/tired to fit in my workout.”

There are  foods that I know that are good for me that I should eat, but I just don’t like them (eggplant, mushrooms, and other), so I don’t.  I am not perfect, and I eat foods that are not my best choice when I shouldn’t.  I love cheese and ice cream. I have even tried to switch to the low-fat cheeses, but it is not the same!  I just try and enjoy a little, but not all the time!

I hope you understand that I am human, I am not perfect. I have my own “stuff” to deal with just like every other girl/woman.  In the past I thought I should strive for perfection, now perfection is just a game.

Perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness.

With that definition I know that human perfection is not attainable.  Flawless, I am not! I  like to think of myself as a work-in-progress. Mason’s Kindergarten teacher taught us that Practice does not make Perfect, but  “Practice makes PROGRESS!”

Practice makes progress, give it a try
That thing you think you can’t do just stresses you
It’s just a journey, you and I
Practice makes progress, give it a try
It’s just a journey, it’s always so
Practice makes progress

Here we go

Progress is all I can ask for, from you and me!  Be honest with yourself, where you’re at right now.  Where do I want to be? What do I want to do?  Who do I want to be?  Are you working in the self-improvement direction?  You have the power to make your own choices, they are not all easy ones, but they are yours.

You can make PROGRESS, one step at a time!

How Can I Improve My Balance

Balance, what is it and why is it important?  Balance is a state of equilibrium, a sense of harmony or proportion.

Understand how balance works. When in perfect balance, your center of gravity will be exactly above the point where you touch the ground (or if there are multiple such points, between them). The human body being as it is, it is impossible to remain exactly like this for long; deviations from this ideal stance will soon appear, and grow quickly (in other words, you’ll start wobbling). In order to keep your balance, you need to know when this happens as soon as possible; the deviations are easy to correct when you notice them on time, but when you notice them too late, it’ll become too difficult to return to a balanced position and you’ll fall over.

Remember the human body is NOT symmetrical in all directions so our center of gravity, the point at which all of our weight appears to be concentrated, changes as we change positions. Center of gravity can be viewed as:

The World is constantly changing around us and we need to be able to change our center of gravity and achieve balance.  Balance is part of our daily lives, something that we do when we walk, or change positions – getting out of bed in the morning, and getting in and out of your car.

Balance training is very important and can help improve coordination,  posture, agility, and athletic skill.  Balance training can also reduce our risk from injury by deceasing our chances of falling and increased dynamic joint stabilization.

Everyone, all ages and abilities, can benefit from balance training!

Children practice balance without even realizing it.  Do you remember …“how long can you hop on one foot?” or walking on the curb like it was a balance beam without falling off, maybe even walking across the top of the monkey bars? At age 3-4 most children can hop and stand on one foot up to five seconds and at age4-5 most children can stand on one foot for ten seconds or longer.
Seniors can increase their stability and fall prevention.  In the long run increased balance will keep them stronger and more independent for longer.
Athletes use balance training to improve their overall performance while reducing their risk for injury.

How does balance training work?  Proprioception

…a feedback mechanism; that is, the body moves (or is moved) and then the information about this is returned to the brain, whereby subsequent adjustments could be made.

Regular balance training will teach our brain and body how to work together using our body’s ability to interpret and use information about our position in space. Balancing training focuses on our ability to maintain proper posture during movement. Movement will cause instability and with training, instability will force our muscles act, returning our sense of balance.

There are a variety of exercises and equipment that you an incorporate into your balance training routine. Some pieces of equipment that I use include:
VersaBall
BOSU Home Balance Trainer
VersaDisc
VersaSteps (TM)
Foam Rollers
You can look for similar equipment at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, and other discount stores.

Take a look at some exercises from the American Council on Exercise:

Balance training can be a fun, challenging and a family activity.  Remember, Rome was not built in a day, so you must practice to see improvements!  What are you waiting for, let’s get started, your balance is on it way!!!