Day 3 - Let's talk water

How is everyone doing with their healthy eating so far??  I have to admit having this blog to keep up with has made me way more aware of my choices!  Today I wanted to focus on what we drink, and more importantly WATER!  I think we tend to forget about how important it is to stay hydrated.  It is good rule of thumb to try and get in 64 oz of water daily, that is 8 glasses.  In theory you should have 64 oz of liquid but why waste all those extra calories on sugary drinks like pop or juice? Stay away from diet drinks as well.  They contain chemicals to create flavour and reduce calories.  I often hear " I don't like the taste of water" well it doesn't hurt to put some natural flavours in it.  Try squeezing a lemon into it or even a lime, put cucumber in it, try some berries, or if you like the fizziness of pop try carbonated water.  There are a lot of different options to add flavour to your water, but the important thing to remember is, stick with water!  If you are overwhelmed with the 64 oz start off small.  A bottle of water contains 2 'glasses' or 16 oz.  So you only need 4 of those throughout your day. Most reusable water bottles can hold up to 32 oz.  Mine holds 20 oz so I know I need approximately 3 of them a day.  I try and drink a full glass of water before my coffee in the morning (I can't give up my coffee).  It is also important to remember that many of the healthy foods you eat contain water.  Fruit and veggies contain water so if you are eating a lot of fresh ones you will be getting water in that way as well.

Here are some great benefits to drinking water:

• It will help you lose weight - Water is an appetite suppressant.  Sometimes your body confuses thirst with hunger so you are eating when you should be drinking!
• Great for the skin - Water helps replenish skin tissue and moisturizes!
• Less muscle cramps - Adequate  hydration keeps your muscles and joints lubricated so you are less likely to cramp up.
• Reduce Fatigue - When you are dehydrated you body has to work that much harder to do its job. Keep hydrated and your body will thank you for it :)

Who wants to give up pop for water??  You know you can do it and it is only for the rest of October :) 

Workout Wednesday

Did you know that there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat?  So to keep it simple, you have to burn 3500 more calories than you eat to lose a pound of fat.  How about a quick 100 calorie burner workout?!  Just do this 5 times a day for one week and watch the pounds melt off :)

Some other things you can do to burn those extra calories:

• Rake your lawn 
• Play frisbee
• Put on your favourite music and dance around the house (my personal favourite)
• Cleaning the house
• Playing catch with a football
• Go for a walk
• Yoga

Do any of these for 20-30 minutes and you have burned 100 calories and have a smile on your face :)

Have a great workout Wednesday!

Day 2 - Let's talk sides

Today is Day 2!  Did you go shopping yet?  I went this morning and I did great!  I got lots of fresh fruits (apples, grapes, banana's) and great seasonal veggies (brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, carrots, spaghetti squash) and I think I am good to go until after Thanksgiving!
We are doing a big turkey for family and I am happy that I get to do one of my favourite side dishes.  Sweet Potato and Carrot casserole!  I don't have any pictures because I am not making it until the weekend, but I promise to take pictures for you.  It is so super easy to make and it has some amazing flavours.  It also won't set you back in calories.  We are also going to have brussel sprouts, which I happen to love.  I am going to try to bake them and sprinkle them with some parmesan cheese....not too much though.  We will be having mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, but it is all about moderation right?!
What are some of your favourite (healthy) side dishes?  I am a big fan of steamed veggies with a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese or plain.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and leave a comment with your favourite one :)


Sweet Potato And Carrot Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in ½-inch rounds
1 lb carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
1¼ cups fresh or drained canned pineapple chunks
½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp molasses
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp chopped toasted pecans (optional - I don't use it because of an allergy in the family)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9-by13-inch baking dish with cooking oil. Place the sweet potatoes and carrots in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes at a boil, or until tender. Drain. 
2. Toss the sweet potatoes and carrots with the pineapple and cranberries. Place in the prepared baking dish.
 3. Combine the brown sugar, juice concentrate, oil, molasses and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for one minute or until melted and smooth. 
4. Pour the sauce over the vegetables. Cover and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from the oven and toss the vegetables. Sprinkle the pecans overtop. Garnish with the parsley.

Day 1 - Let's talk shopping :)

I love to shop for pretty much anything.  For some reason grocery shopping always seems to get people down.  I often hear things like, shopping for healthy food is too expensive, how do I know what to get, my kids won't eat anything green, the list really goes on.  Sometimes you have to be sneaky about how fruits and veggies are consumed, but that is for another day.  Today we focus on the food.
Make a list and STICK to your list.  If you are only buying what is on your list you are less likely to get those extra 'treats' that are hidden all over the store.  When you are thinking about healthy foods stick with the outside perimeter of the store.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, and grains are all along the outside.  Those are all you really need when preparing a healthy meal or snack.  Another great tip is to shop seasonally. It will save you money and you might just try something you never have before. Here is a great chart I found:

Don't shop hungry!  You will grab anything and everything when you are hungry and most of it not good!  Have a snack before you go or better yet go after a meal.  

Avoid the chip and pop isle completely.  Why tempt yourself, you don't need it.

Now go out and get shopping!  

Tomorrow we are talking Thanksgiving!

New Month = Great Challenge

Today is a new month!  A new month can bring many new things, a clean slate if you will.  With October we get 31 new days (slates) ahead of us.  I have seen many 31 day challenges from organizing your house to taking 31 different pictures, so I thought why not start one focused on healthy eating.

The challenge starts TODAY!  We will take the entire month of October to work on eating healthy.  We will work on cutting all that junk from our diets.  I know Halloween is at the very end of this challenge, but I will give you alternatives to candy as well as some delicious healthy recipes to try.
Who is ready for this challenge??  I know I am.  They say it takes 21 days to form an new habit, well we have 31 so we are going to kick our old habits and create amazing new healthy ones!

Workout Wednesday

I am so excited about today!  Every Wednesday we are going to put up a new workout or tips on how to improve your existing workout.  It will be a great place to get some fresh ideas and maybe find a great challenge.

We are going to start off our first one centred around the television.  I know, I know, television doesn't scream workout, but we all know you are watching all your favourite shows return and maybe some new ones as well!  We designed a workout that you can do durning all the commercial breaks.  For an hour long show there are 6 breaks including the ending credits and in a half hour show there are 3. (I did my 'research' by watching BONES on Monday night.  It's a hard life but somebody's got to do it.) That leaves plenty of time to fit in a great workout.

If you are watching a 30 minute show just do the first 3.  Don't forget to drink plenty of water.  Maybe have an apple with the pumpkin butter you made :) for a snack.

Have a great workout!

Fall fun

I LOVE fall!  I love the leaves changing colours, I love the crisp mornings, and most importantly I get to bring all my sweaters out to the front of my closet.  I love how delicious my coffee (or tea) tastes when I can enjoy it hot.  I think my most favourite part of fall is the pumpkin patch.  I had never been to one until 2 years ago.  It is so much fun.  I usually come home with 4-8 pumpkins of various shapes and sizes.  We do a few jack-o-lanterns, but the rest I use for cooking and baking.   I love cooking and baking with pumpkin.  I make everything from pumpkin loaf, to pumpkin syrup (for those morning lattes), to pumpkin butter.  Once my pumpkin is cooked I freeze most of it so I have fresh pumpkin all year round.
For today's for Tasty Tuesday I am going to share with you my favourite addition to toast, fruit, pancakes, yogurt....the list really goes on and on! :)  PUMPKIN BUTTER!!!  I know a lot of people that do apple butter in the fall, and while that is delicious I prefer pumpkin butter.  My favourite way to have it is as a dip for fruit.    It also makes a great hostess gift for Thanksgiving Dinner :)

Pumpkin Butter
Adapted from Smitten

Ingredients:

1/2 cup apple juice & 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce (this can be adjusted to be more sauce than juice)
1 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree or 4-4.5 cups fresh Pumpkin Puree*

Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice, or more to taste. 

Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. 

*To make your own fresh pumpkin puree cut pumpkin in half, clear out all seeds and gunk.  Place upside down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (you can brush the inside with oil), and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350F.  You may need more or less time depending on the size of your pumpkin.  It is done when you can poke through the skin with a fork and it is tender.  Remove all the pulp from the skin and place in blender.  Puree it all up and you have your very own fresh pumpkin puree!