The bags are reusable and relatively inexpensive (about 10 for $1). Make sure to follow the instructions on the box for storing produce (make sure it is dry and cold before placing in the bag, use a paper towel to absorb moisture, etc.). Give these bags a try yourself and let me know what you think!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Stock up on Produce using “Fresh Bags”
It seems I can always find junk food on sale, but produce and healthy snacks can be a bit more difficult. Produce selection obviously varies by season, but when something my family likes goes on sale I like to stock up. Stock up on produce? Won’t it go bad before you can use it? One of the very best products I have ever found for eating nutritiously on a budget are produce bags sometimes referred to as “green bags” or “fresh bags”). I actually discovered these a few years ago at a dollar store and have been using them ever since. The bags work well for most fruits and vegetables and can extend the length of time the produce stays fresh by several weeks making it possible to actually stock up on items like strawberries, kiwi and grapes (favorites in my house) and also keeps celery and peppers from wilting in my crisper drawer. My regular grocery store does not actually carry these bags, so a trip to the dollar store every so often is necessary, but probably saves me $30 per month at least on fresh produce.
The bags are reusable and relatively inexpensive (about 10 for $1). Make sure to follow the instructions on the box for storing produce (make sure it is dry and cold before placing in the bag, use a paper towel to absorb moisture, etc.). Give these bags a try yourself and let me know what you think!
The bags are reusable and relatively inexpensive (about 10 for $1). Make sure to follow the instructions on the box for storing produce (make sure it is dry and cold before placing in the bag, use a paper towel to absorb moisture, etc.). Give these bags a try yourself and let me know what you think!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Portion Control
Portion sizes are a key to healthy eating. Here are a few ideas to help right size your portions.
1. Use smaller dishes. By switching to a salad plate rather than a dinner plate you can fill the whole plate and consume substantially fewer calories. This is a good tip for those of us who feel the need to eat everything on our plates. The same holds true for glasses, bowls, etc.
2. Pre-portion foods. Rather than eating straight out of a bag of chips, candy, or anything else for that matter, count out the allotted amount in a single serving and place in a bowl or plastic bag. This is usually a good step for me as I realize how many calories I am wasting on a food that will not fill me up. Take this one step further and pre-portion all of the servings in the entire bag and have ready-made snack bags to prevent grabbing random handfuls.
3. Muffin tins. Use muffin tins to portion items prior to baking. Simply divide into tins and cook for half the recommended bake time. If not quite cooked, continue checking every few minutes. Muffin tins can also be used to freeze smaller portions of soups and sauces for later use. Simply ladle thesauce into the tin. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag for use as needed.
4. Remove items. Serve food on plates and remove the remaining food from the table. Out of sight, out of mind. The same holds true at restaurants where breadsticks, chips, and other appetizers are constantly being refreshed and refilled; ask to have the item removed and the temptation to continue eating those items will be gone.
5. Eat more healthy choices. Portion control is more than just eating smaller portions; it is eating larger portions of healthy items. Place fresh fruits and vegetables in easy to reach places. Serve larger portions ofthese items with your meals. By eating more healthy foods you will be fuller, leading to fewer unhealthy snacking urges.
1. Use smaller dishes. By switching to a salad plate rather than a dinner plate you can fill the whole plate and consume substantially fewer calories. This is a good tip for those of us who feel the need to eat everything on our plates. The same holds true for glasses, bowls, etc.
2. Pre-portion foods. Rather than eating straight out of a bag of chips, candy, or anything else for that matter, count out the allotted amount in a single serving and place in a bowl or plastic bag. This is usually a good step for me as I realize how many calories I am wasting on a food that will not fill me up. Take this one step further and pre-portion all of the servings in the entire bag and have ready-made snack bags to prevent grabbing random handfuls.
3. Muffin tins. Use muffin tins to portion items prior to baking. Simply divide into tins and cook for half the recommended bake time. If not quite cooked, continue checking every few minutes. Muffin tins can also be used to freeze smaller portions of soups and sauces for later use. Simply ladle thesauce into the tin. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag for use as needed.
4. Remove items. Serve food on plates and remove the remaining food from the table. Out of sight, out of mind. The same holds true at restaurants where breadsticks, chips, and other appetizers are constantly being refreshed and refilled; ask to have the item removed and the temptation to continue eating those items will be gone.
5. Eat more healthy choices. Portion control is more than just eating smaller portions; it is eating larger portions of healthy items. Place fresh fruits and vegetables in easy to reach places. Serve larger portions ofthese items with your meals. By eating more healthy foods you will be fuller, leading to fewer unhealthy snacking urges.
Weekly Menu #2
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Workout for "I Don't Have Time" people!!
So, you don't have time to workout... I can sympathize. I work full time (50+ hours a week), I come home and help my wife with our 4 kids and by the time , dinner is eaten, homework is done, kids are bathed, odd jobs completed, sports, karate, etc. have been attended I'm ready to crawl into bed. Waking up early isn't a real good option either since my 2 youngest seem quite content to wake my wife and I up several times each night. So I looked very hard at my schedule and just couldn't find the time to get to the gym for a workout. So I started considering working out at home, well doing a video was ok but on a regular basis wasn't happening, and I was struggling to follow any kind of 90 day, or 60 day get ripped program. So I decided to start out small and commit to 3 20 minute exercise times each week. I had some free weights so I would do some lifting, I would do my favorite P90x video (Ab Ripper), I would do push-ups, sit-ups, and burpees in quick succession. After a few weeks I noticed a spot in my schedule that I hadn't noticed before that would allow me time to work out. My LUNCH BREAK! I was taking at least a 30 minute lunch everyday and would most times eat at a lunch table with my co-workers. Luckily for me we have single person bathrooms right next door to my office. At first I would sneak in with my gym bag and try not to draw attention to myself. But after a few days of my "bathroom workouts" I stopped worrying what anyone would say and now am perfectly clear on what I go in there to do (don't worry the bathrooms are very clean and we have more bathrooms down the hall for those people in need of "immediate relief"). I started doing my videos (I ripped them to my smartphone), I started doing resistance bands, and I started going for longer workouts (usually between 30-45 minutes). Results: Have lost 20 pounds since starting this, didn't gain any weight during the holidays (usually I can put on 15 pounds easy), and have felt better going through this winter than any winter I can remember. So we need to look for time we are wasting and find a few minutes to do some good for our bodies. (Even 5 minutes of stretching is better than nothing).
My Favorite "NO TIME" workout:.... The PYRAMID!!!! Here's how it works......
10 sec workout, 10 sec rest
20 sec workout..........20 sec rest
30 sec workout..........................30 sec rest
30 sec workout..........................30 sec rest
20 sec workout..........20 sec rest
10 sec workout, 10 sec rest
Total Time for a Pyramid: 4 minutes!
So here are my favorite workouts to do in "Pyramid Workouts"
Pyramid #1: Jumping Jacks- **TIP**- Touch your hands together when going over your head, and go deep squat style on your legs. I promise after four minutes your legs will be burning.
Pyramid#2: Mountain Climbers: Assume push-up position- And alternate your legs driving your knees into your chest. **TIP**- Try to keep your abs contracted the entire time you do this.
Pyramid#3: Plank Superman- Get into plank position and stretch your right arm/left leg out, then go left arm/ right leg. **TIP**- Keep your abs contracted!
Pyramid#4: Deep Squat Jumps: Start with a squat (go lower than 90 degrees), then jump up in the air, land and start again. **TIP**, don't focus on how high you jump rather on how deep and wide your legs can go when you are squatting.
Total for all 4 Pyramids= 16 Minutes. So this is the workout for anyone that doesn't "have time" to workout! (Even if you have time, give this a shot, you will not be disappointed).
Thursday, February 2, 2012
5k....???
This is it, this is the year you have committed to get in shape by running. You have set the goal, made the resolutions and now you are ready to run a marathon.... Ok, let's be serious. A marathon, if you've never run more than 2 miles in your life a marathon this year is going to be quite a challenge (possible to achieve, but very difficult). But never fear, enter the world of 5k's and you are in business. What is so exciting about 5k's? Well they are fairly easy to train for, and they are so very popular, you can usually plan to run more than one a year. So how far is a 5k?... 3.1 miles. Easy as pie right? Well, 5k is a very short distance (compared to a marathon). But a 5k race can still be a great challenge and great way to boost your running confidence. So here are some tips and some reasons why a 5k is your race this year. Ok... Step#1 Pick a race and commit: Find a race, easy to do if you look on www.active.com, then pay for your entry. Now you have a reason to start training. Step#2 Shoes: Your old Nike's from High School PE class are not your ideal shoe to train / run in. So go to your local sporting good store (or better yet, a running store). Try on lots of different shoes, run up and down the aisles (you may get some strange looks, but hey, gotta test the merchandise), talk to the staff (especially at a running store, most people that work in a running store are avid runners), if you are planning on running a few races and are going to be training through "the season" you may want to go more high end for running shoes (probably in the 100- 150$ price range). Step#3 Start Training: So this is where things get tricky, you don't want to "overtrain" (running too much, too fast, too hard, too often), start each run with some stretching (seriously... I can't emphasize this enough, stretch your body will thank you later), start off running at a slow, easy pace, no need to overdo it and burn out too fast, build up to your "race pace". **TIP**- Use something to time your runs, it can be a state of the art Garmin Forerunner (Love this), or a smartphone with GPS (Love this too), or go buy a simple stopwatch, but you need to keep track of time. (I have used all three of these items and they all are simply fantastic, but keep track of your times and your distances, the Garmin and smartphone will do it in a neat electronic data format, but even if you are writing it down in a notebook it still is important. **TIP**- I make notes about each run, weather, time of day, problems I had, etc. This helps you see trends and analyze your runs for tweaking and adjustments. **TIP**- I highly recommend using a training guide if you are new to running, or it has been awhile, you can google "5k training plans" and you will probably have well over 100, 000 links to choose from. Or once again ask for help from your local running shop, or post a comment on this blog, or email (familyfitnessforlife@gmail.com). Step#4: Keep Running: There may be some discouraging times in your training, you may have some physical struggles, you may want to quit, you may just say " I don't have time". My suggestion: Keep Running!, you can make time ( I am a man and therefore can run pretty safely in the dark without fear of being attacked, so I have run on many dark and cold evenings, and have "made the time", if you are a woman use some common sense and run in a safe, bright environment. (Not being sexist here but I know that female runners are a very targeted group), keep running when you feel like you aren't getting any better, or faster, you will improve just be patient). Step#5 Plan for your Race: If your race is in the morning (most likely it is), then try to run some training runs at the same time of the day, figure out how full you want your stomach to be, how much water you want to consume the night before and right before the race (taking a potty break during a race is no fun, just sayin'). Step#6 Hydrate: If your not hydrated correctly you will cramp, you will be miserable, and you won't want to run, drink plenty of water. And don't wait to hydrate yourself the night before a race, true hydration takes a much longer time (think weeks, not hours).
****RACE DAY**** Get there on time, most every race has some sort of Pre-Race check in, these are usually a bit chaotic, so get there early. Make sure any gadgets you are using are charged (Garmin, HR Monitor, mp3 player, etc.) Find your spot in the starting line (faster runners are usually at the front, slower usually at the back), **TIP**- If you don't know where you fall in pace time (fast or slow) then just go to the middle, once the race starts you can either speed up or slow down accordingly. Finally, stretch (once again- emphasis on this one), then on your mark, get set, GO!!!!!! (Smile, have fun, and run!!!) This is what you have trained for and set out to do, enjoy every minute and it will be over before you know it.
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