Living a healthy lifestyle can easily become a way of life for anybody. However, it doesn’t mean that it becomes easy, or you don’t slip up occasionally. Everybody has a slew of legit excuses to skip workouts, healthy meals, proper sleep and even rest time. Jillian Micheals offers solutions to save you from junk food and dodging exercise even when your schedule is overwhelming.
Excuse: “I have zero time to exercise!”
Michaels says: “I feel your pain—my life is crazy, too. But good-for-you habits are the last thing that should go. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll have less energy to be that supportive person in your loved ones’ lives. I tell working moms to ask for help. It used to take a village to raise kids; you can’t do it on your own.
Excuse: “I can’t afford a gym or fresh produce.”
Michaels says: “Commit to a $100 investment in 10 fitness DVDs and you’ll have enough variety for six months at least. You can do a whole workout—sit-ups, jumping jacks, squats—without any equipment. And imagine the cost of taking diabetes meds for the rest of your life—much more than the extra $50 a month you should spend on groceries and fish.” Try this free, do-anywhere workout created by Michaels to get started.
Excuse: “The cookies in my cabinet are calling me!”
Michaels says: ‘I don’t keep junk in the house or let waiters bring bread to my table. I have no discipline, so I protect myself from temptation.” Stock up on some of these 30 healthy snack options instead.
Excuse: “I can’t get up early to work out, and I’m tired at night.”
Michaels says: “When the alarm goes off, ask yourself, ‘Will going back to sleep help me reach my great goal?’ If the workout isn’t attached to a larger reason—like having the confidence to get back in the dating game—it won’t stick.” Got 10 minutes? Try this superfast workout you can do in your living room.
Excuse: “I’ve hit a plateau; I give up.”
Michaels says: “Get selfish! Don’t think you’re asking too much of the world or of yourself. Push through by believing the new, improved you is your destiny. There’s no reason you can’t have it all.”
Excuse: “I start off Monday with the best intentions, and then life takes over and I flake on my workouts.”
Michaels says: “Set a daily or weekly target and reward yourself every time you meet it. I get my eyebrows done or download songs from iTunes.”
Excuse: “I get so bored counting all those weight reps or running.”
Michaels says: “As you exercise, think about what you’re trying to achieve. Having intention behind your actions is extremely powerful. And nothing beats a good beat to keep energy high. I want to die when I don’t have my music! Any song by The Roots totally gets me psyched. Finally, you don’t have to kill yourself to get a workout. Running is one of the best ways to get smaller, but I hate it, so I do only one 10-minute mile.”
Excuse: “But the couch is so comfy!”
Michaels says: “If you need a couple days off, take them. You don’t want to get bitter or burn out.”
Thanksgiving shouldn’t be the only day you eat sweet potatoes, add this nutrient rich vegetable to your diet for a sweet surprise during the colder months. A distant relative of the potato, sweet potatoes pack tons of vitamins and minerals to help meet or exceed your daily recommended value of nutrients, with as little as a single 4-ounce potato.
A single serving of sweet potato (approx. 1/2 cup), contains a myriad of health boosting vitamins such as 390% daily value (DV) of vitamin A, 40% DV of vitamin C, 18% DV of fiber and 13% DV of potassium, not to mention containing significant amounts of iron, magnesium, beta carotene and lutein.
Sweet potatoes are a great starch component to use when the weather is cold and frightful, because their peak growing season is from fall through winter. Aside from their great health benefits, choose sweet potatoes over their regular spud brethren to add new color and taste to your meals. When shopping for sweet potatoes look for taut papery skins, as well as uniform size, shape and color. While the intensity of orange in sweet potatoes varies by type, look for a deeper color, for that indicates more beneficial carotenoids.
Unsure of how to cook, prepare or season sweet potatoes? Here’s a simply sweet, and healthy twist on a baked potato.
Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
- Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on High until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)
- Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on High until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)
- When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.
For more information on sweet potatoes and several satisfying recipes visit:
http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_food_guide/sweet_potatoes
Every year the American Restaurant Association publishes a report recognizing the 20 most popular trends for the upcoming year. This report is important because it documents the biggest culinary concerns for both chefs and the american public. For 2010 America has spoken and the most pressing trend is the availability of local and sustainable foods.
Locally grown and sustainable food is a recent trend to much of the American public. However, it’s a topic that is becoming increasingly more important, and this is marked by the fact that four of the top five trends tackle this topic. There are many reasons to eat locally grown foods, beyond supporting local businesses, food grown locally is often fresher, better tasting, more vibrant and healthier.
Sustainability has quickly become the unofficial trend for our times, and for good reason. You may be asking yourself, “what exactly are sustainable foods?” As defined by the sustainabletable.org “sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities.” One of the most important sustainable food items is fish. We are overfishing our waters, placing many species at risk of extinction. Examples of species include Chilean sea bass, atlantic salmon and monkfish, to name a few. Tilapia, Pacific halibut and Pacific cod are great examples of safe sustainable fish.
Here are the top five trends in order: locally grown produce; locally sourced meats and seafood; sustainability as a culinary theme; mini-desserts; and locally produced wine and beer.
Other food trends include: nutritionally balanced children’s dishes, gluten free/food allergy conscious, super fruits (i.e. acai, goji berry and mangosteen), organic produce and regional ethnic cuisine, to name a few.
For more information on the Top 20 food trends visit: http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/whats_hot_2010.pdf
For sustainable agriculture information: sustainabletable.org
Information regarding sustainable fishing practices: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
Loading ...