11 Ways to Maintain or Lose Weight Throughout the Holidays

The holidays are never easy for those trying to maintain or lose weight. Never ever. You’re typically surrounded by family shoving food in your face like ham and cookies. We’ve created a guide that you should follow to weather this tumultuous season. Let’s stay on track!

Exercise or MOVE 30 minutes a day. Minimum. That sounds like a lot. It’s not. Walk the dog, take a brisk walk round the neighborhood, scrub the floors, hop on the treadmill or elliptical. You can even pick up a light sport such as golfing, cycling or even hit the gym for a few weeks. It is worth it.
Limit yourself to 2-3 treats a week. This plays a big part in maintaining all of your progress. Don’t binge on treats all the time, it’s about moderation.
Strength train 2-3 times a week. Whether that means getting on the floor and doing core work, picking up weights, or using machines in a gym facility, get your muscles working. Keep up the toning and strength work. We want to keep burning calories after our workout!
Resist temptation most of the time. Say that pack of oreos or that ice cream sundae is looking fabulous. Try to resist as much as possible, but again, have a treat now and then. When you resist the cookies, supplement it with something else like banana and peanut butter, greek yogurt, crackers and peanut butter, or fruit. Still tasty, but tremendously better for maintaining your progress.
Get your friends and family in on the exercise. Think of how funny a plank or push up contest would be with all the folks. Get people to go for walks or jogs with you. Do a 15-minute timed abs routine with your cousins or siblings. Create family time around something other than food–and make it fun. Think how hilarious it would be to see your dad playing Just Dance.
Look at ingredient labels. If it has anything like “high fructose corn syrup” on it, STAY AWAY.
Eat breakfast. A simple simple way to control your metabolism and eating for the entire rest of the day. Not very hungry? Just have some greek yogurt and nuts, eggs on whole wheat toast, or a smoothie. Just to get the metabolism started and preventing a binge-fest later.
Control your portion size.We eat with our eyes and then we feel bad if we leave food on our plate. Break that habit and get small servings to start. You can always get more if you’re still hungry, right? Be smart about these choices. Use a smaller plate or bowl.
Eat often and well. When our glucose levels drop, we usually scrounge for something to satiate it: cookies, chips, ice cream, etc. However, when we eat often throughout the day (every 2-3 hours), that doesn’t happen. Have carrots, fruit, and nuts around the house—easy fix.
When you eat, just eat. Sounds weird, but if you eat while distracted, say, while watching television, you don’t pay attention to your food or how your body is responding to it. Take the time to eat and really enjoy the food. It’s a good meditation and you won’t overeat.
Is it worth it? Look at that piece of unhealthy food. Is it worth it? Is the satisfaction going to last more than ten minutes? What about that feeling of progress with weight or lean muscle? Weigh your decisions (no pun intended). Then reward yourself with a smile and know you did the right thing.

So there you have it. Not too difficult to follow because you do get some cheats and treats every once in a while. It’s all about moderation. Be realistic, but don’t overdo it. Good cheer and good luck this holiday season!

Dec122012

Berry Delicious! HEALTHY Berry Whole-Wheat Pie/Crumble

First of all, yes, yes, I know…brilliant title. I thought of it myself. And second of all, it IS healthy and GUILT FREE. Why? There’s barely any sugar in it. It’s weird. But I don’t lie. And for record, this is my first pie/crumble/whatever-you-want-to-call-it that I’ve made by myself from scratch. I took it from here, but as usual, modified. It didn’t take too long either. It was a very pleasant process.

Ingredients (Pie Filling)

2 boxes of blackberries
2 boxes of raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour

Ingredients (Crust)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1.5 sticks butter
1 teaspoon salt
12 teaspoons cold water

So first, let’s take care of the pie filling (will take approx…2 minutes!).

Directions (Pie Filling)

Put the berries, flour, and sugar into a bowl (take note that it’s just the 2 teaspoons of flour)

Directions (Crust)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine the flour and salt in a big mixing bowl (this time 2 cups flour)
Cut up the cold butter into little pieces and place in flour mixture

Next, add enough cold water for the flour to stick together and can be rolled into a massive ball of dough.

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes
Take out of freezer, and use glad wrap or wax paper to really roll it out as thin as you want the crust
Once the crust is rolled out, place half of it on the bottom of your pan (or whatever you may use)

Next, get that fruit filling in there, to make it look truly beautiful.

Using the rest of the pie dough, make the top of the crumble/pie

Put in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Mine took about 42 minutes I would say.
ENJOY!

Even though the crust wasn’t perfect, I definitely had two servings. Have fun!

Nov272012

Thanksgiving Feast: Do it Right

Okay, so we’ve been gone for…a week. But we have plenty reason why! My family came in and it was a very excellent, fun, way-too-fast vacation for all of us here in Boulder. But you’re not here to listen to my excuses about family and not being able to post. You’re here to see food. And since we’re just getting back to full-time blogging, I’ll post a nice light array of food.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. When is it not? Don’t answer that, yes I know the turkey could light the house on fire. Family, food, sunset walks, and good tv. WHAT CAN GO WRONG? Don’t answer that. But seriously, everything went well for us and we had an amazing time (kittens included). So, my parents and brother came in for the week and we had a 9-person Thanksgiving. It was beautiful and great and just LOOK AT IT ALL.

Mum’s homemade cranberry sauce, from stewed cranberries and sugar

Baked yams with shaved almonds on top

Mashed potatoes (of course)

Martinelli’s…Thanksgiving Classic

TURKEY. We didn’t eat it, but others did

My beautiful plate…you can see salmon (wild caught) as my meat in addition to a roll, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts (as well as other food covered already)

You will always find amazing salads at Marga’s house

Plate all clean! Well except for the avocado Kai dropped on the floor

One of the two pies we had. This one was a bakery-made Peach-Raspberry (yum) and Megan made a top-notch pumpkin pie that I wish still existed

So that really covers it for Thanksgiving food…except for the stuffing and gravy and other alcohol served. Everyone had a good stuffed time. How was yours?

You know it…BONUS KITTY PIC

Nov162012

Lactose-Intolerant? I’m Sorry…But Here’s Something for You!

Now Chris’ mom is a fantastic cook and baker, so this one is a treat. Especially for you folks out there who are lactose-intolerant (what a sad world that is) and have other allergies. She’s prepared a Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Lactose Free) for everyone out there for the upcoming holiday!

That sure looks good, doesn’t it? Now trust me, I’ve had many many things she’s cooked or baked from her amazing Thanksgiving Stuffing to her Chocolate Mocha Cake. She’s got it all and she has it down-pat.

Head over to her Etsy site for this delicious recipe and more. She doesn’t just cook–she also crafts. She makes wonderful jewelry and headbands…she paints too! It would really be worth your time to take a look at everything she’s got. And I’m not just saying this because it’s Chris’ mom…it’s because I truly enjoy her good, healthy food and you will too!

(you know it…BONUS KITTY PIC)

Nov142012

Bisque Me! Beautiful Butternut Squash Bisque

Now, I’m no Master Soup-Maker. In fact, this is my first time cooking a soup (or bisque, rather) from scratch. And it turned out really well! I got my basis for the recipe here, but I really changed this one up. Also, apologies for the lack of postings, busy lives! We’ll get back into it, we have a lot in store for you still. Alright, get ready!

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Butter
1/2 onion
3/4 cup of diced carrots
Butternut squash
Vegetable stock
Salt/pepper to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Brown sugar to taste
Ground ginger to taste
Garlic

Alright! Semi-long list but once you have everything cut up it’s easy. And the last few are to taste, throw your own ideas in there too. Ginger, brown sugar, and cinnamon just gave that nice soothing Fall flavor. So amazing on the cold nights we’ve been getting in Boulder.

Directions:

Cut up your butternut squash (I would roast it before hand, it was NOT fun to cut raw), carrots, and onions into cubes or small pieces.

Next, put some oil and butter into a big pot. I added some garlic in there too. Watch out, the smell is divine.

Once that’s nice and hot, pop in the onions.

Once the onions are nice and tender, put in the carrots and squash. And, though I’m not explicitly saying it, throughout this I’m putting in salt, pepper, garlic pepper, cinnamon, brown sugar, etc. Do it to taste. Make it your own.

Stir it around and then pour your vegetable stock in and bring to boil. You’re going to leave these in here, boiling, until all the vegetables are nice and tender.

Alright! So your veggies and nice and tender…I hope you have a blender or food processor! Because you want to throw all that mixture into that blender or food processor and blend it until smooth. Now we have a really bad blender, and although it took some time, even ours was able to blend all these. So you can do it!

Once that’s all blended, pour back into the heated pot. Here, you can add cream into it if you want (I didn’t). I stirred in a lot of cinnamon, ground ginger, and brown sugar in at this point to get it to that flavor I wanted to. Just stir and taste until you are satisfied.

And voila! You are done! Wasn’t too hard, was it? I really really suggest it as we move into winter…it is so nice and hearty. Very warm. There might be a holiday coming up where you can use this… Let me know if you have any questions!

(BONUS KITTY PIC)

Oct222012

The Most Important Meal of the Day: EAT IT!

There’s a problem in this culture. For as much as we over-eat, so many of us do not eat breakfast. What’s the deal with that?! Meals are always something to look forward to in my day. Maybe because I have a slight obsession with food. Whatever. I’m here to tell you to EAT YOUR BREAKFAST! Just eat something: oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, trail mix, bagels, fruit, something.

Why?

Well, boys and girls, let me talk a little about metabolism. You want a good, high metabolism. Why? Because the higher your metabolism, the faster your food is digested and nutrients absorbed. It means your body works faster and better. You see a lot of people with high metabolisms are usually thin, even though they seem to eat a normal (or more) amount. It’s either genetics or they know how and when to eat.

Structure of adenosine triphosphate, a central intermediate in energy metabolism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you don’t eat breakfast, (just literally breaking your fast) your metabolism won’t wake up. For it to boot up and start trying to make you have less fat, you need to give it something to start on. Otherwise it’s going to be very slow. And when you do finally eat lunch (which is usually bigger than breakfast), your metabolism will be slowed down at that point and you won’t absorb nutrients or digest as quickly.

We like to go big on breakfast when we can. This is (not necessarily our typical) our ideal breakfast: whole-wheat Kodiak pancakes (or waffles), eggs, whole wheat toast with jam, Morningstar Sausage Links, and a big fruit salad. Sounds like a lot? You can bet our metabolism is going to be booted up from the start? And yes, I usually can’t finish everything so Chris gets to clean my plate.

Not in the mood for a big breakfast? When I don’t have a lot of time before work and Chris is still asleep, I’ll usually make oatmeal, or greek yogurt with fruit and nuts, or an egg on toast, etc. Those all have plenty of protein and carbs for me to last until lunch or snack time.

Whatever you do, just eat something. Even if it’s just an apple as you run out the door. I promise, it’s worth it and your body will thank you.

BONUS KITTY PIC

Oct112012

Save Money and Devour Nutrients: the Grown-Up Lunch Box

For a little while now I’ve wanted lunch boxes like this:

Or this

Anyways, putting my lunchbox fantasies aside, I wanted to let you know how easy it is to save money at the very same time you are devouring nutrients and getting good calories. Another healthy article? I know, I know, I’m sorry! But it’s really easy, again, like I was saying before. Then, I was talking about general meals and putting little effort into making them healthy (not hard). But now, I’m talking about bringing your lunch to work.

Are you one to usually buy lunch? Let’s stop that. No need to waste money, and especially to waste it on bad food. It’s so important to know what is in the food you are eating. Preparing your own meals is the perfect way to do that. Don’t have time in the morning to pack a lunch? Do it the night before. I promise it won’t get bad. Making this effort could really save your eating from junk food to health food. Again, go to the market and get the veggies and fruits on sale, meaning they are in season. There are so many things you can do that take 5-10 minutes. Let me show you some lunches I pack.

Here we have a guacamole, spinach, tomato, and morning star chicken sandwich. Healthy ingredients, protein, veggies, and grain right for you. Whole-Wheat bread. Easy. Took Chris about 5 minutes to make for me. I ate this with an orange and some yogurt-covered raisins.

This is my most frequent lunch meal. We have a huge thing of organic spinach in the fridge and we use it for almost every meal. I chop up whatever vegetables we have (this one has red pepper, cucumber, avocado, and tomato) and throw some morning star protein in as well. I use my cousin’s wonderful Balsamic Nectar and throw in a little oil too. Don’t feel full from salads? I always do from mine. Add protein to it or a healthy fat like avocado. Eat an orange or an apple with it.

Here’s another good example of a usual meal including other things that accompany my main dish (salad or sandwich or leftovers). I always add a fruit and usually some kind of carb (here is my Grandma’s featured trail mix!). That sandwich is spinach, hummus, morning star, and tomato. I have a big thing of water that I keep by me at all times to constantly drink up.

And here’s an example of other foods that accompany my salad or sandwich. I don’t know why that apple looks so freakishly large, bad camera angle maybe. I will usually have the apple and raisins with my main lunch meal, and then eat the Clif bar a few hours later. I can’t eat much at one time, but I get hungry quickly so I usually eat every three hours if possible.

So there you have it. Examples of easy, simple, quick-to-make lunches to bring with you every day, no matter where you work. You don’t even need to refrigerate it. Just try it one day. You’ll find it very rewarding, I promise, and you’ll want to do it every day. You’re making yourself a nutrient-packed meal that will make your coworkers feel bad about themselves.

Tell me what lunches you bring to work! Enjoy 🙂

Oct092012

Eating Healthy Really Isn’t Too Hard

America has an obesity rating of 34.4%.

I want to give you recipes and ideas that will make you realize, “Oh, eating healthy isn’t that hard!” and “wow, this tastes good!” I don’t want you to resort to fast food or processed junk (although In ‘n Out is always okay and so are Wendy’s Frosty’s). And it’s really not expensive! I would be considered poor right now and we have great home cooked meals almost every night. Here’s a few rules to live by:

1. Buy the produce on sale at the supermarket–it’s probably the ones in season. Seeing a multitude of apples and squash on sale? For really nice prices? Buy them. It’s almost like they’re yelling at us to eat what’s in season and get in with the cycle of the earth.

2. Stick to fruits and veggies. These are almost always going to be the most nutrition to value ratio every time and once again, in-season ones will not be pricey.

3. Get grains you cook yourself. Don’t get the pre-packaged stuff like ramen (though we may or may not have that in the house due to Chris’ obsession)–get the most fiber-filled rice you can at Costco for $20. What a deal.

Anyhow, above wasn’t my primary point for this post. I have an easy little-work recipe good for dinner or whenever you’d like. As most of you know we’re a weird breed of vegetarian/pescatarian so the only meat it contains is mushrooms. Which of course isn’t an actual meat. Let me spit the recipe at ya:

Ingredients

5 small white mushrooms
1 red pepper
4 potatoes
Whatever seasoning you’d like

Short list, right? Let’s move on to directions.

Directions

First and foremost, get the potatoes washed and cut into quarters. Then plop them in a pot full of water and set on high. We want these bad boys to boil!
Next, you’ll have some time. It takes around 15-20 min for the taters to boil
So we’ll move onto the veggies. Cut the mushrooms and red pepper into small slices. Grind some pepper and salt over them and whatever other seasoning you’d like.
When the potatoes are close to being boiled (say after 10 minutes), let’s cook the veggies. I sauteed them in white wine, soy sauce, and garlic (YUM). I also put some rosemary and garlic pepper in too.
Keep an eye on it and stir. Make sure to taste, they won’t take too long to cook, but you want all that moisture to soak in. Especially into the mushrooms
Drain those potatoes and put them back in the pot. Put half a teaspoon of butter in, a little soy sauce, and some garlic pepper in and mix around.
Serve and enjoy!

It was super juicy and flavorful–my favorite. Didn’t last long. And was a very cheap meal, didn’t even breach $7. Cheers!

Sep202012

Eating Kale: Fear the Bitterness No Longer

Most people turn up their noses when it comes to kale (unless it’s kale chips, which are great), including Chris and my dad. I don’t blame them, really, it is a pretty bitter vegetable if you don’t cook it right. It’s a very dark green green, and, if you have experience cooking (or…eating), you know that dark greens can often be a bit bitter. But, kale was on sale at the grocery, and I had never really cooked it before, so I picked up a HUGE bunch (it actually took 5 minutes and two of us to get it into the bag).

Kale, still planted

It sat in the fridge for a few days as I was unsure what to do with it, and I knew Chris was even more unsure and not looking forward to it. Then, one day for dinner, I got out the kale. I was on a mission. This was going to be cooked and it was going to LIKE IT! My planned dish was pasta with kale.

Spoiler: It turned out great.

Sep182012

Whole-Wheat Pizza — No Yeast Necessary

Hey there, ladies and gents, here’s a dish that will make you drool the instant it’s about to go in the oven and even more so after. And the recipe will make your stress meter happy: it’s a quick one (surprisingly, for pizza). If your dough is right, then it could take just twenty minutes (including cooking time!). AND YOU DON’T KNEAD ANY YEAST (sorry I had to). I don’t know if you’re getting it…it’s an easy quick recipe! I got it from this blog, but altered it a good deal. Okay sorry, let’s get to business.

Ingredients:

2 cups regular whole wheat flour
2 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
anything you want to put on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Put all those ingredients [spare the toppings (anytime I say ‘spare,” I think of Voldemort’s “Kill the spare!” sorry I digress)] into a big bowl and mix by hand. You want to knead it all together to make a dough. You want it to feel spongy and happy.

Get a baking sheet, oil it lightly and press the dough down onto it in whichever shape you desire. Try to get it as flat as possible without tearing it

Bake for 5-15 minutes, depending on how thick your crust is. You want it to firm up so you can put your toppings on
Take out and put your toppings on! I started with pesto and marinara sauce, with garlic pressed into it too

Then I put grated cheddar cheese and brie all over. On one half, I loaded on the spinach (eat your vegetables!). I also put dried basil and oregano on top

Put in oven for 10-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the crust). You want it until the edge of the crust is a light brown and your toppings are cooked

And there you have it! That wasn’t hard, was it? It’s near impossible not to enjoy this–unless you burn your mouth, so be careful! This dish maybe lasted eight minutes. Maybe. Just try it, you won’t be disappointed.