FitSugar

Healthy Eating Tip: Pack Salad For the Week

FitSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Are you struggling with eating healthy at lunchtime? I know if I don't plan out a healthy meal the night before, I'll end up going out to lunch. Not only will I be spending more money on food, but I am sure there a hidden calories in restaurant foods, even if they appear healthy.

Try this instead. On Sunday night, make a big salad and store it in five Tupperware containers for Monday through Friday. That way you don't have to deal with making your lunch every day, and you can just grab it in the morning before you leave, and you know you've got yourself a healthy meal. You can add leftovers from your dinner the night before to your salad to make it a bit more snappy. Don't toss those four leftover pieces of steamed broccoli; add them to your salad.

Keeping a bottle of salad dressing in the work fridge helps keep this plan intact. Need some ideas for fun and tasty salads? Check out Pimp Your Greens.

Healthy Meals Made Easy: Make a Big Salad

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:15:00 -0700

A great way to make sure you get your veggies for the week is to make one big salad. I'm more likely to eat a salad everyday if it's already made, as opposed to having to take time to make one everyday. Who has time for that?

It'll take about 30 min to an hour to buy all the stuff you need, and another 30 minutes to wash and cut everything up.

Here are some tips to make it go by even quicker:

Make a list of all the things you love in your salad including fresh veggies like carrots, cucumbers, yellow, green, orange, and red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and celery. Don't forget the fresh and dried fruit, nuts, flax seeds, and salad dressing as well. Having a list will help you remember everything. There's nothing worse than getting home and realizing you forgot the lettuce.
If you don't have a big huge plastic container with a lid, make sure to pick one of those up too.
Look for pre-washed lettuce in bags or plastic containers, and baby carrots. Buying these will save you a lot of time.

Want some more tips? Then read more

Once you get home, you won't even have to waste anytime putting your groceries away. Just wash everything and cut it up, and throw it in the container, pop on the lid and place it in the fridge.
If you like fresh fruit in your salad, cut it up, squeeze some lemon juice on it, and place it in a separate container.
Keep the dried fruit and nuts separate as well, and add them to the individual salads when you make them.

Now you'll have salad ready to have with dinner every night of the week.

Fit's Tips: If you prefer to eat salad for lunch, you can spread that big salad out into 5 separate containers instead of one big one. Then in the morning, you can just grab it before you go.

Healthy Meals Made Easy: Plan Ahead and Pre-Cut

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:15:00 -0800

You are busy all day long, it is a part of these modern times. You're at school or work full-time. You have meetings and a workout to fit in - so who has time to prepare a healthy meal?

Here's a tip I learned from my gramma. You've got to plan ahead and do as much prep work as possible so when it comes to actually making the meal, you've got a head start.

Get yourself some clear re-usable plastic containers. Take an hour out of your Sunday to cut up peppers, onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, potatoes or anything else you like to use in your recipes. Put them all in separate containers and they'll be ready when you need them. All that chopping can be daunting at 7:30 pm on Tuesday night when you are starving!!!!

I do the same thing with fresh fruits. Cut up pears and apples and sprinkle them with fresh lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Pre-wash grapes, blueberries and strawberries. Make sure you pat them dry with a paper towel so they don't get squishy. Cut up fresh pineapple, melon, and mango too.

Keep all the containers stacked neatly in the fridge. Now you'll have fresh fruits and vegetables on hand to snack on alone or use when you cook.

Speak Up: Splurging on One Meal a Day

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0800

I read an article recently in the New York Times, "Vegan Before Dinnertime," and the title really captured my attention and got me thinking. This partial dietary restriction is how Mark Bittman, author of Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating With More Than 75 Recipes, lives. During the day, he loads up on fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains, steering clear of white bread, dairy, eggs, and meat. When dinner rolls around at 6 p.m. - anything goes. Allowing himself to indulge at one meal makes it easier for him to stick to his vegan diet the rest of the day, which has helped him drop 35 pounds and lower his cholesterol.

Deciding to make a healthy change to your diet or lifestyle can be difficult if you have an all-or-nothing attitude. So what do you think about being healthy most of the day, and allowing yourself to splurge during one meal? Do you think this tactic would be effective for you, or do you think you'd end up indulging too much during that one meal?

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Back on Track: Plan Your Menu for the Week

FitSugar — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:00:00 -0700

Sunday mornings may start out lazy, but by the time evening rolls around I always feel like it is time to get back on track.

In the late afternoon I like to sit down with a cup of green tea and figure out my meal plan for the upcoming week. This takes the guesswork out of the menu since I have found I don't make the healthiest choices when I am already hungry. A little planning ahead can save a lot of unnecessary calories later. Once I figure out the meals for the week, I make a grocery list of the necessary ingredients and head to the store. Feeling stocked up for the upcoming week brings me peace of mind. I know I have the ingredients in the house to make the healthy meals I have planned.

Fit's Tip: You can use my food journal not only to track your meals, but to plan them as well.

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Snack Attack: Inexpensive and Nutritious Snacks (and Meals)

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0700

I've been a big Joy Bauer fan; she kind of has a tough love approach to eating. In her book, Food Cures, she gives great tips and tidbits on how to eat right, easily.

Joy has a little column/blog on Yahoo health, and her most recent entry about finding inexpensive, healthy snacks was right up my alley, particularly since I am always complaining about how expensive it is to be healthy.

Here are highlights:
Afternoon Snacks:

5 cups air-popped popcorn (2 tablespoons Jolly Time kernels) = 5 cents
1/4 cup raw almonds = 20 cents
1 Polly-O string cheese (from a large bag at a wholesale club) = 16 cents
1 apple = 50 cents
1 Nature Valley granola bar packet (from a large box at a wholesale club) = 16 cents

For some inexpensive and healthy meal ideas, just read more

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and English Muffin = $1.20
Two scrambled eggs cooked in nonstick spray; serve with toasted whole-grain English muffin topped with 2 teaspoons of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

Lunch: Taco Bell = $1.98
Two "fresco style" healthy chicken or bean tacos (extra salsa)

Dinner: Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Shrimp = $1.70
2 oz dry Mueller's whole-grain penne (1 cup cooked) with ¾ cup marinara sauce and 3 ounces frozen shrimp.

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Smarter T-Day Eats: Go Gold For Your Mashers

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:11 -0800

I love me some mashed potatoes, especially on Thanksgiving. The problem is that this dish is usually overloaded with tons of butter and cream, which can be a big problem if you're trying to stay healthy. One way I make my mashed potatoes healthier is by using Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes instead of the old stand-by, Russet potatoes.

It might seem peculiar that switching out potatoes makes a difference, but these smaller variety potatoes are naturally creamy and sweet, and their skins taste like butter. This means that you can cut down on the amount of butter and cream you would normally add to the dish.

When shopping for Yukon Golds or Yellow Finns, look for smaller ones that aren't much bigger than one inch in diameter. Potatoes harvested early are creamier because they're more tender. Also, the more yellow the potato, the better - it's vitamin A contained in the skin that give these potatoes their golden hue. There's potassium in the skin too, so when making your mashers, don't peel! Another great thing about Yukon Golds and Yellow Finns is that their skins are pretty thin and won't detract from the creaminess of your dish if you leave them on.

For a few more tips on how to make mashed potatoes healthier, read more.

For added nutrition, add sweet potatoes to your mashers mix.
Substitute reduced fat or lowfat milk for the cream, or try making them with evaporated skim milk.
Cut back on salt by seasoning mashed potatoes with garlic, onion, and herbs.
Omit dairy altogether and mash in cauliflower and broth instead.

How do you make your Thanksgiving meal healthier? Share the details in our Healthy Recipe Group.

Source: Flickr User karindaziel

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Seems like Demi Moore has lost her hip on the cover of W - Never Say Diet
Meet Gwen Stafani's trainer Mike Heatlie - Fit Bottomed Girls
Going for the fastest marathon time . . . pushing a jog stroller - That's Fit
A little blue pill for the ladies is on the way - Vitamin G
Workout starved? Try the kitchen boogie workout - Fresh Fitness Tips
A 500 calorie Thanksgiving Day meal. How can that be? - Daily Spark
Tame your hunger with these five healthy snacks - Health

Gifts Every Healthy Cook Wants

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:00:59 -0800

If you give the cook in your life more reason to get into the kitchen, chances are you'll be rewarded with a delicious meal. Here are our picks for what we think will make healthy cooks even happier come gift time.

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You Asked: Energy Bar For a Meal?

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:48 -0800

Dear Fit,
I just got off the phone with a friend and I need some advice. She says for breakfast, she eats one Balance Bar. I know some bars are fortified with vitamins, but this doesn't seem like enough to me - calorie- or nutrition-wise. What do you think? Is it OK to eat an energy bar for a meal?
-Concerned Friend

This is an excellent question because I think many people grab a bar for a quick meal because it's quick, easy, and fairly inexpensive. Is it enough, though? To find out what I think read more.

Replacing a meal with an energy bar is not a good idea. For one, most bars contain only about 200 calories. That calorie amount is suitable for a snack, not a meal. Another reason is that those bars were designed to give someone energy before or after a workout, so they tend to be high in carbs and low in fiber. That translates to quick energy at first, but your friend probably feels tired and hungry soon after. The low fiber issue may also affect regularity. The bottom line is that energy bars are not designed to replace a well-balanced meal, since they won't offer the same kind of nutrition. Even the ones that are fortified with vitamins and minerals only offer about 25 percent of your RDI, which isn't very much.

I think it's best to ask your friend why she's only eating an energy bar for breakfast. Is she short on time? Is she trying to lose weight? Does she think it's healthy? Once you find out her reasoning, you can suggest healthy breakfast ideas that suit her needs. There are plenty of tasty options that are high in protein and fiber to offer sustained energy, are easy to make, and won't break the calorie bank.