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Healthy 4th of July Recipes

by Madi Johnson

Happy Birthday, America!

4th of July Weekend is upon us, and that means cookouts, family, and celebrations. How do you continue to eat smart at a potluck? Or when there is an apple pie staring at you? Here are a few tips (and healthy 4th of July recipes!).

  1. Don’t go to the cookout, potluck, or party starving. Eat your normal meals throughout the day and have a filling snack before leaving such as an apple with peanut butter or Greek yogurt with fruit. That way, when you get to the party it will be much easier to control how much and what you consume.
  2. Bring your own healthy dish. You know there will be at least one thing you can confidently put on your plate if you bring a healthy option. And others will appreciate it too!
  3. Survey the all of the food first. Before diving into the buffet line, scan all of your options and plan ahead. You will be able to see your Aunt’s famous chicken is at the end of the table so you’ll know to skip the other meats that come before it.
  4. Fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. The majority of your plate should be fruits and vegetables and by putting these items on your plate first, you are less tempted to leave them out “on accident”. A salad makes this part easy, just throw it on there!
  5. Determine what is calorie worthy. The most important step of them all. Don’t deprive yourself of your favorite 4th of July dish such as Grandma’s mac and cheese she only makes once a year. Just determine which once-a-year dishes (and dessert) is calorie worthy and take a small amount. You’re more likely to savor the small bites instead of woofing down a large portion mindlessly.
  6. Don’t feel like you have to put something on your plate just because it is there. Someone else’s favorite dish on the buffet might not be your favorite dish, and vis versa. Again, determine if it is calorie worthy before reaching for it out of habit or obligation. If you try a bite of something and don’t care for it, throw the rest out and save the calories for something you enjoy.
  7. Sit away from the food table. Enjoy the company and sit facing away from the food. When you are finished, put your napkin over your plate and focus on the conversation instead. You are there for the people!
  8. Be mindful of what you are drinking. Drinks can be a hidden culprit of sugar. Lots of sugar. Choose water or jazz it up with a splash of juice, fresh fruit or cucumber, or sparkling water.

Here are a few of our favorite 4th of July recipes.

For more, visit our Pinterest page where we have a whole board full of them: Healthy 4th of July Recipes.

Star Caprese with Balsamic Glaze

Strawberry Quinoa Salad

healthy 4th

Frozen Banana Popsicles

Coconut Water and Fresh Berry Popsicles

4th of july recipe

Watermelon On a Stick

Berry Salsa

A Quick Tip to Help You Drink More Water

by Cathy Thomas

Sometimes I get to the end of my workday and water tipsrealize how little water I have drunk. I have good intentions, with bottled water in my office, beautiful water bottles, and even access to a water cooler – however, the pace of the day gets going and it just doesn’t always happen.

Something I have tried that works for me is taking a 20-ounce bottle of water with me on my ride to work. I drink it on my commute, which is about 15 minutes. If I arrive at work before the 20 ounces are gone, I sit in the car until I am finished.

Twenty ounces is only about a ¼ of what I need a day but at least I am off to a good start. Try this, you might find it will work for you as well. I can assure you that once you get use to this and skip it, you will miss it.

Here’s a toast to hydration and to feeling great.

How do you make sure you get enough water? Do you add fruit? Set reminders? Share your tips in the comments below.

 

 

 

How to Grow Your Own Vegetables

by Madi Johnson

I didn’t want to title this blog “How to Start a Garden” because that already sounds too complicated. I don’t have time. I don’t know how to “garden”. I don’t have a green thumb. But I know vegetables need soil, water and sunlight. So let’s start there.
how to garden

Two years ago, I started with a small basil plant from the Farmer’s Market. This was my test run. Could I keep a single basil plant alive? Turns out, yes! I kept it alive and flourishing, enjoying delicious fresh basil all summer long. Just a little water, picking off the leaves to help it grow (and it use), and making sure it was in a place on the porch that got sunlight. Apart from just noticing the fresh taste, I saved so much money on that one plant compared to buying basil at the store whenever a recipe called for it. I was hooked.

Last May, we decided to try to grow vegetables in addition to another basil plant. We visited a local nursery and they walked us through recommendations, plant needs, and what to try. It was so interesting! We found a small space in our yard and planted green beans, squash, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and watermelon. Yes, watermelon because why not try it (we were able to grow one small watermelon and it was delicious but it was a lot of work).

garden
Tiny watermelon just beginning to form.
The single watermelon that survived!

We set reminders for ourselves to make sure we watered it when it hadn’t rained, and watched with awe as little plants started to pop up. Some of the plants made it, others did not, but overall we thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of having a garden; watching our work come to fruition, the satisfying feel of picking off a fresh vegetable, the great taste, the money saved, and having a fun project to do as a family. My husband doesn’t even like green beans, but he LOVED the green beans from the garden. Now that speaks volumes.

how to grow a garden
Small butternut squash just popping up.
Full grown butternut squash right before it was picked.

Now we are back at it with more experience under our belt and a much expanded garden. This winter we had two 6 foot window boxes bursting with different lettuce types and herbs (loved having fresh lettuce!).
flowerbox

We have just transitioned them to flowers and herbs for the summer (basil, mint, lemon mint, oregano, thyme, parsley) and added four other windows have 6 foot window boxes full of flowers.

Our garden is underway with four tomato plants, two zucchini plants, two squash plants, two bell pepper plants, green beans (for the husband!), and instead of watermelon, our fun “why not try it” vegetable is corn. Yes, stalks of corn. Are we in over our heads? Maybe.grow your ownI am no expert, not even close, but my favorite things, and easiest, so far have been the tomatoes, basil, and green beans. I recommend starting small and working your way up, not to get discouraged if a plant fails, and to set reminders to water and check up on them. We will see how this year’s garden shapes up.. stay tuned for future updates! Do you have a garden? Or recommendations for me? Tips for others? Looking for a place to start? Whether you’re an expert or a beginner, share your thoughts on growing your own fruit and vegetables!

How to Make a Smoothie Bowl

by Madi Johnson

Summer is here! That means lots of fabulous options at the farmers’ market with fresh fruits and vegetables galore. And blueberries.

There is nothing quite like the sweet taste of fresh summer berries. And now I was in need of something to do with all these blueberries. You have probably heard, seen, or tasted the trendy concept of a smoothie bowl or an acai bowl. An acai bowl is made up of frozen acai berries mixed with other typical smoothie ingredients (varies on recipe but bananas, strawberries, etc) blended to make a thick smoothie. It is then topped with various toppings such as granola, fruits, nuts, honey, drizzled peanut butter, or coconut flakes. Store-bought smoothie and acai bowls can be very high in sugar. There is often sugar added to the frozen acai berries (they are very tart and very expensive on their own) and as you see from the above list of toppings, they can be very high in sugar as well. So to save money, and limit my sugar intake, I embarked on my own smoothie-bowl and acai bowl challenge.

Smoothie bowls are different from a regular smoothie because they are thicker and eaten with a spoon. By eating it in a bowl with a spoon, it allows you to become more mindful and slow down instead of slurping through a smoothie (while you are most likely doing something else at the same time). You can find frozen acai berry packets at most grocery stores, but read to the label to make sure they do not contain any added sugars. Trader Joe’s has individual packets of unsweetened acai in their frozen section – a great find!

I used an EatingWell recipe to make it a DIY acai bowl and it turned out great! I also prefer to get vegetables into my smoothies, so I typically make green smoothie bowls using spinach, frozen banana, frozen pineapple, water or coconut water, and ice cubes. The result? A delicious green smoothie bowl. Since the typical smoothie bowl toppings can be high in sugar, I stick with a little bit of homemade granola (you can control your own sugar and oil), nuts, and berries.

And for the rest of the blueberries, they found their home in  the form of tasty blueberry muffins.

How to Be A Mindful Eater

by Surabhi Aggarwal, RD, LDN

I came across an article in New York Times about ‘Mindful Eating’… Although I am already aware of this concept and its importance in weight management, I really like how it describes a mindful eating experience – ‘to meditate with food, expanding consciousness by paying close attention to the sensation and purpose of each morsel’. This article has made me think again about how much of my own eating throughout the day is truly ‘mindful’ and can I do better?mindfulness

I ‘usually’ grab a rushed breakfast in the morning while trying to get two young kids out of the door in time for school. I eat lunch ‘at my desk’ most weekdays while getting things done! I know that I am not ‘perfect’ with being mindful on every eating occasion. However, there are times when I ‘sit down’ with my food and truly ‘taste’ each bite – the easiest way to do this is to put the fork/spoon down in between bites and chew slowly. These are the meals/snacks that are most enjoyable and satisfying. I think I am at my best with mindful eating while eating a piece of dark chocolate. I don’t want to overdo the chocolate so I try to fully enjoy the taste, texture, and flavor of that one piece as it melts in my mouth…try this the next time you get your favorite piece of candy and notice the difference!

I know that I will continue to have ‘distracted eating’ (term presented by Evelyn Tribole during a webinar on ‘Intuitive Eating’) episodes scattered throughout my busy routine. I think that’s okay as long as I am aware of this and don’t completely give up. I don’t think that we need to have an ‘all or nothing’ approach with mindful eating (or with any other healthy eating behavior that we may be working towards) – the more mindful we can be with each meal or snack the better! I am working towards getting more mindful with my meals and snacks as I can.

How do you think you are doing with eating mindfully each day? Do you do better during breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks? Do you feel a difference when you eat mindfully?

Don’t Miss the Beat

by Madi Johnson

Developing a great playlist has been essential in my motivation to workout daily. I have, therefore, adopted the idea of being a self-proclaimed workout DJ that has the best hits of music to keep one energized. Whether I’m specifically listening to music workout playlistfor its vocals, beats, and/or cords, the rhythm always seem to put me in good spirits which distracts me from focusing on the work and effort of doing my exercise for the day. Ultimately, I depend on music to pull me through those tough moments where normally I would be distracted by fatigue.

To begin, I joined a streaming music channel in which every song I could imagine could be accessed and played. I then began to program my playlist to coincide with my workout and work of breathing for the specific exercises for the day. During cardio exercises, I prefer fast paced pop and/or rock music while focusing on foot placement on the ground during the beat of the song. While weight training, I prefer R&B music focusing on the beat of music, range of motion, and breathing.

Every day I look forward to the fun of an awesome jam session. Whether I’m doing cardio or weight training, my mood stays positive and my energy level stays high. Focusing on staying on the beat while working out challenges me to have the ultimate workout performance. Although I can be seen mouthing the lyrics or snapping my fingers I am absolutely enjoying any activity. With great music while exercising, I never miss a beat.  

Is Trader Joe’s Bread Still King?

by Madi Johnson

I have blogged before about the best bread – Trader Joe’s Sprouted Wheat. It was the best bread until a new formula appeared in their bread aisle. When I asked Joe why he changed his bread it had to do with warehouse being too far away from the producer, changing producers, original recipe proprietary to original baker, blah blah blah. The bottom like was my favorite bread had changed. It didn’t’ taste as good, slices were not uniform, and, worst of all, it now had a different nutrition profile. Not terrible, but different. This sent me in search of a new bread. The table below tells the story of my search. The bottom line is that the Trader Joe Sprouted Wheat still beats out the competition, in my opinion. This, however, does not stop me from emailing Trader Joe’s (which I have done multiple times) to ask them to PLEASE make nice with the original baker and get our bread back to normal. I encourage you to do the same. In the meantime, let me know if you think your bread could take Trader Joe’s Sprouted Wheat in a head to head nutrition and taste.

How to Move from Walker to Runner

by Madi Johnson

SETTING A NEW GOAL:

Saturday, May 14th 2016 was a big day for me as worksite wellnessI was participating in my first road race ever, the Women’s Red Run fundraiser 4K run/walk held in Charlotte, North Carolina. For me, it was the cause that attracted me to participate in it. Heart Disease is the number one killer of women and this was the first annual event that my Huntersville Family Fitness gym was hosting,  I decided to sign up for it for my health and to test my endurance.

Running was something that I had not done for quite a while now. It had been almost 20 years since I ran. The last time I remember running in a race/or even just running to be active was some time during my high school days in 1995-1996. I have tried running on treadmill about 5-6 years ago, but never seemed to like it because it made me exhausted and left me panting for breath. It used to leave me with aches and pains in my knees. A few minutes running would make me so uncomfortable. I enjoyed other group fitness activities such as Zumba, Body Jam, Dance workouts, Yoga, etc. I dreaded running because of the fear of injury. I needed some motivation to easy exercisestart running and this Women’s Red run event was a perfect start for me. It was a 4K race, a short enough distance for a beginner and yet challenging enough to get me into running straight for 30 minutes at a stretch, comfortably.

TRAINING :

It is true that a runner is not born over night. It needs weeks of training and building up muscles to make the body keep moving at a certain pace. Training for a race definitely helps build endurance and also helps prevent injuries. I had about 5 months when I registered for the event. It is very important to stretch before and after running. I was looking for some good training strategies for a beginner which are not too intense yet help you get to the goal of becoming a runner. It is best to start slow, listen to your body, and get your body used to any new movement. I found a training program online extremely useful in building my stamina and confidence. It was an 8 week plan to help you become a runner. Whether you are running outside or on your treadmill, this plan helps you run comfortably for 30 minutes at a stretch by the end of 8 weeks. It sure did help me.

I trained for almost 9 weeks before the race day. I loved this guide mostly because it builds up the endurance slowly and the running pace increases gradually from 1 min run to 30 minutes run at the end of 8 weeks. Since I had a gap of 20 years from running, when I started off with this plan I struggled to run for 1- 2 minutes at a speed of  4.4 miles/hour. I continued to run every other day just like planned and after a week, I could see the change in my stamina. I was able to run comfortably for 4-5 minutes at a stretch, and then 15 minutes at a stretch. What was more amazing was that I was able to improve my pace. I was able to run at a speed of 5.5 miles/hour straight for 15-18 minutes. As the race day was approaching I was able to run at speed of 6 miles/hour for 30 minutes. I had practiced running only on treadmill.

THE RACE DAY:

The race day was my first time running outside. I went in it with a clear and relaxed mind. I wanted to enjoy my first experience and have fun with all the other women who had gathered for the event. The day was beautiful and sunny. Once the race began I realized that it is not easy running outside at all. It is very different from training on a treadmill in a controlled environment. We were running uphill, downhill and on flat roads. The first 5 minutes of running outside was so exhausting that I felt like giving up and walking all the way but I pushed myself. Once I gained momentum I started enjoying the whole event. All the volunteers along the path of race were so employee wellnessencouraging. We got a Boa garland, dark chocolate and water along the course to keep us pumped. I crossed the finish line 5 minutes earlier than my training time! I finished running 4K in 24.59 minutes  with  pace of 10.03 (minutes/mile) which is my personal record. I finished second in my age category. It was a great achievement for me. From a person who was afraid to run to crossing the finish line had increased my confidence tremendously. I absolutely did not feel any pain and more importantly had not injured myself. That was my biggest reason to feel great that day.

BENEFITS OF RUNNING:

If I can run, anybody can run. It is important to train well, wear comfortable shoes and clothing.  Crossing the finish line gives a sense of achievement and pride that one must experience for themselves. There are only positive health benefits that come from running. Cardiovascular health is improved because your breathing and heart rate increases, immune system is found to function better preventing illnesses, bone health is improved preventing the early onset of osteoporosis, running improves the lung capacity and promotes better breathing.  It sure is addicting. Like Oprah Winfrey once said ” Running is the greatest metaphor for life; because you get out of it what you put into it.”  It is definitely worth taking the first step: because if you don’t then you will never cross the finish line. You might think running is not for me; I am not a runner. Taking that first step, training strategically, getting your body used to running slowly and staying motivated will help you become a runner and enjoy all the benefits of running.

Yielding from Unhealthy Food Temptations

by Madi Johnson

Like many people battling with weight and healthy living, I struggle with saying “no” to unhealthy foods that simply look and sound delicious. Making wise and healthy food choices is a constant
battle. Changing the desire of eating avoid temptationsunhealthy food is difficult when there is temptation to eat unhealthy things everywhere you look. By seeing food for what it is designed to provide, my desire and urge to eat unhealthy has completely changed. I have been able to change my mindset by adapting two main concepts in order to avoid unhealthy temptations:

 

  1. Examine foods strictly for its nutritional value
  2. Learn and practice saying “no” to unhealthy foods without regret

Being mindful of choosing healthy options is an important first step. Like many, one of my biggest weaknesses has always been sweets. After learning simple food swaps for my typical sweets, such as fruit for dessert, I began to see a difference in not craving sugary and junk food as often. I was more mindful with my choices and weened myself off the feeling of needing something sweet after every meal. It is important for me to always have healthy options readily available to resist making regretful choices because of convenience. When my pantry and fridge only offer healthy options, it keeps me from being tempted by cookies or chocolate. That way, when I am starving and running to grab something, the first (and only) options I see are healthy ones.

We live in a culture surrounded by unhealthy eating choices. Fast food and other convenient eateries have captivated our families and conveniently fit into our everyday busy lives. These places are on almost every other city block on my ride home from work and on my way to the gym. Though the urge is there, I have had to practice saying “no” to these eating stops. I realized that those foods are often not worth the physiological harm. Also, eating these “quick fix” meals does not fully satisfy my hunger and usually provides me with little to no nutritional value. My saying “no” to unhealthy choices forces the idea of regret out of my mind knowing they can do more harm than good for my body. I feel empowered when I can say NO!

How to Control Social Media Time

by Madi Johnson

Reducing the amount of screen time we get every day is an important strategy for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Screen time includes time spent looking at a computer, TV, or any mobile device including phones and tablets. This is important because time spent in front of a screen is mostly inactive. Most of us who have a regular office/desk job, cannot always control the amount of time spent working at a computer while at work. However, we can control the amount of screen time outside of work to some extent. Being mindful of time we spend on social media each day is one example.

How many of us are guilty of spending a little too much time on social media? You are on a social media right now – reading a blog! Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTubeand other types of Internet-based, social interactions count towards our social media time. Social media connects us with others quickly and easily and can lead us to spending a lot more time doing something than we intended to. Not many people go to Facebook with the goal of spending 30 minutes but end up doing that or more. Spending no time on social media if you are actively involved with this, is not a practical goal. However, a few strategies can help us be more mindful and control our social media time:

  • Reward yourself – use social media time as a reward for being physically active. For example, if you go for a 20 minute walk then you get 10 minutes on social media or some other ratio that works for you.
  • Set limits – before you get yourself on social media, decide how much time you plan to spend – 10, 20, 30 minutes? Then set an alarm for that much time and be faithful to yourself by stopping when the time is up.
  • Get creative – use your time in the passenger seat of a car (or public transport) to get your social media fix. Of course, never do this while you are in the driver’s seat – it’s against the law as well as common sense. This is a strategy that works for me personally, so I will add that you can also spend this time interacting with others in the vehicle so find your balance.

These are just some ideas to get you started as you take control of your social media time. If you have an idea or strategy that works for you, please share it below so we all can learn from each other. After all, that’s what social media is about!