Break that Fast

One of my TOP health recommendations: EAT BREAKFAST!

Okay, yes, we’ve all heard it before:  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But WHY??? 

Well, having a healthy breakfast is essential to getting a great start to the day, yet millions of people skip it because they are not hungry or they feel like they have no time in the morning to cook. The benefits of eating breakfast are substantial but here are a few that should make you think twice before running out the door with an empty stomach.

#1 – Get Enough Nutrients

Most people do not get enough nutrients throughout the day and if you start off the day by skipping breakfast it will be harder to get enough iron, calcium, fiber and various vitamins you need to be more productive and healthy. Making sure you get enough essential nutrients in your diet will help you control your body weight and in general just make you feel better!

#2 - Better Attention Span and Focus

There have been numerous studies showing that people who eat breakfast are better able to concentrate, focus and pay better attention to anything they are doing.  Children perform better at school, adults perform better at work.

 

#3 - Affects Your Mood

Hunger has a direct affect on a person’s irritability and can cause mood swings. So think about it this way... you slept for 8 hours and you haven't eaten anything since dinner the night before.  Breakfast is “breaking” the “fasting” of the night.  Imagine going 8 hours during the day without eating, I would bet you wouldn't be in the best mood.

#4 - Boost Your Energy Levels

 

Higher energy = better attention span, a better mood and better at accomplishing more physical activity during the day.

#5 - Helps Your Body Maintain a Healthy Weight

Poor eating habits lead to binge eating or eating poorly all day. Start your day by eating a healthy breakfast and you'll give yourself a jump start on having an overall healthy day.

#6 - Increase Your Metabolism

It's shown that people who eat breakfast have a faster metabolic rate than those who do not eat breakfast. The slower your metabolism is, the easier it is to gain weight.  

If you eat dinner at 6pm and skip breakfast by lunch time, you are past hungry and your body has gone into starvation mode.  Your body decides it is not being fed often enough, so it stores extra fat for energy later. By skipping breakfast you are not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight. By not allowing your body to return to its normal metabolic rate, your body is not working efficiently and therefore is not losing weight.

If you haven’t figured it out yet….BREAKFAST IS GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!

So what does a healthy breakfast consist of:
 1) Whole grains 
2) Low-fat protein
3) Low-fat dairy
4) Fruits and vegetables

I am a HUGE proponent for getting PROTEIN for breakfast because if you consume adequate amounts of protein in the morning for breakfast, your body will be set up to burn fat, instead of muscle, for energy throughout the day.

Here are some quick and easy breakfast ideas:

1)       Bowl of cooked old-fashioned oats topped with fresh/frozen fruit, almond/walnuts, skim milk.  

2)      Bowl of ready-to-eat high fiber cereal topped fruit and/or walnuts, skim milk.

3)      2 slices whole-grain toast, topped with 2 Tbsp. Almond butter, or 2 Tbsp. Nonfat cream cheese, & fruit.

4)      6-8 oz. nonfat or 1% yogurt topped with fruit, nuts or granola.

5)      Whole-egg or egg white omelets with fresh or frozen veggies (carrots, broccoli, celery, peppers, onions and even black beans make great additions).

Avoid simple carbohydrate temptations such as donuts, high-fat muffins and any other Danish or pastry.  Coffee does not count as breakfast ; )

FOR ME: Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and typically consists of an egg-white omelet with fresh veggies, basil, and spinach on ½ whole-wheat sandwich thin; cooked oats with fresh/frozen berries, nuts or flax seeds with a scoop of Advocare’s Muscle Gain protein or…the following which is what I have on most days: Advocare Meal Replacement Shakes – perfect meal to start the day.

[A little about the Advocare Meal Replacement Shake: Has 1:1 ratio protein-to-carbohydrate ratio, which studies show supports weight loss and sustained energy.  Loaded with 24 grams of easily digestible protein – broken down into its simplest form so that when you drink it, you do not have that bloat and cramping to break it down like other shakes on the market, it easily absorbs into your system and goes straight to work.  26 vitamins and minerals, just 220 calories per serving, only 3 grams of fat. Contact me with any questions or for more suggestions.]

SO – Break that Fast and “DO BREAKFAST!”

Until next time…Be Well

Jen

Turkey Lentil Lettuce Wraps

What we made with the goodies from our CSA #1  – P.F. Chang's inspired Turkey Lentil Lettuce Wraps.  I have been a fan of lettuce wraps since going to P.F. Changs several years ago – but now we make them with less sodium and more veggies – and our girls go wild for their Meat Boats!  So many great vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber!

This is a super FAST and easy week night dinner.

Here is just one version we made with the Asparagus, Onion & Lettuce from the farm:

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey

¼ cup onion, diced

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup asparagus, chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp. EVOO

½ cup cooked lentils, drained

1 Tbsp. less sodium soy sauce, or to taste

1 Tbsp. Natural Almond butter, or to taste

Romaine Lettuce leaves, cleaned & dried.

Instructions:

1) Chop & sauté onion, garlic, carrots & asparagus in 1 Tsp. of olive oil until tender. 

2) Add ground turkey and brown.  Drain.

3) Cook lentils according to package, drain.  Add lentils to turkey/veggie mixture and stir.  ***SEE TIP BELOW*** 

4) Combine soy sauce & almond butter and microwave for 15 seconds until smooth.  Thin with water.  Drizzle over turkey & lentil mixture. 

5) Serve in lettuce leaves.

Fun for kids of all ages!

***TIP:  Prior to adding the soy sauce & almond butter, I set aside about 1 cup of turkey mixture to use later in the week in a homemade tomato sauce over whole wheat pasta.  Also made extra lentils to use as a side later in the week with grilled chicken and steamed veggies.

Be Prepared

Nope, no Boy Scout here – but I do love their Motto.  Half the battle of healthy living and healthy eating in particular is PREPARATION!   Let’s get back to that momentarily.

I want to feel good, but not just good…GREAT!  Who doesn’t, right?  The question is – How?  The world is full of BUSY people, too busy in my opinion, but busy nonetheless.  I hear it all the time from a variety of people I meet – “I don’t have time to work out”, “I don’t have time to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner”, etc.  Heck, I am sure I’ve been known to say…”I’m too busy…” (In fact, I KNOW I said yesterday that I would love to get my nails done but I just can’t get it scheduled (for those of you that really know me, you will find the comment “getting MY nails done”, pretty humorous : )

So – what’s my solution???  Well, simply put, MAKE THE TIME. But do it in a smart, efficient way - take a little time on a Sunday (or whatever day you do your grocery shopping) and prepare for the week ahead.  Wash, dry, cut up and bag your fruits & veggies into convenient grab-n-go baggies.  Do the same with your snacks for your purse, gym bag, briefcase, etc. – bag a handful of almonds for a protein-packed snack or hard boil some eggs for the entire week.

When you have it ready to go and labeled for each day of the week – you are setting yourself up for SUCCESS. 

In addition, your pantry, refrigerator and freezer should be stocked – here are some suggestions (not exhaustive) on what to have on hand so that you can…BE PREPARED!

Herbs, Spices & Flavorings
· Fine salt and coarse sea salt or kosher salt
· Black peppercorns
· Onions
· Garlic
· Fresh ginger
· Dried herbs: bay leaves, sage, thyme leaves, oregano, basil leaves
· Spices: coriander seeds, ground cinnamon, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, crushed red   pepper, nutmeg, ground ginger
· Pure vanilla extract
· Lemons, limes and/or oranges

Oils, Vinegars & Condiments
· Extra-virgin olive oil
· Canola oil
· Balsamic, rice and red-or white-wine vinegar
· Reduced-sodium soy sauce
· Olives
· Capers
· Pimentos
· Dijon mustard
· Worcestershire sauce
· Ketchup

Grains & Canned Goods
· Assorted whole-wheat pastas
· Brown rice
· Barley
· Quinoa
· Oats
· Whole-wheat couscous
· Whole-wheat bread
· Corn and whole-wheat tortillas
· Plain dry breadcrumbs
· Flax Seed meal
· Wheat germ
· Diced tomatoes
· Tomato paste
· Reduced-sodium chicken broth, beef broth and/or vegetable broth
· Beans (cannellini, garbanzo, black, red kidney, great northern, etc.)
· Tuna, packed in water
· Evaporated skim milk

Nuts & Seeds
· A variety of walnuts, pecans, almonds, and/or pine nuts
· Sesame seeds

Refrigerator Staples
· Fat-free or low-fat milk
· Fat-free or low-fat plain yogurt
· Reduced-fat sour cream
· Reduced-fat cream cheese
· Butter (preferably unsalted) and/or margarine
· Eggs (large) and/or egg substitute
· Parmesan or Romano cheese
· Reduced-fat cheddar cheese
· Dry white wine (may substitute nonalcoholic wine)

Freezer Staples
· Frequently used frozen vegetables, e.g., spinach, peas, peppers
· Frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries or strawberries)
· Low-fat vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Coming up next…what I made with CSA#1.

Until next time…Be Well!

Jen

A Gardener you say!

Why, yes I am.  I have proudly had my very own garden for 8 years, but have been learning by watching my grandmothers, mother and mother-in-law for many years spend countless hours tilling and weeding and bringing forth beautiful, fresh, pesticide-free produce. 

Not only do I feel blest to now live in the former home of my grandparents and to be reminded of all the wonderful memories that began here - I am doubly blest for the rich garden soil they provided from which my husband and I have grown tomatoes, peppers, onions, spinach, cucumbers, a variety of herbs, among others.

 Just the beginning...the best is yet to come.

 My beloved Basil - btw, those are not weeds in the back, but KALE (more on that friend soon : )

Peppers and Onions

Thoughout the summer I will show the progress of our garden.  But for now, I'll tell you about how we also support our local farmers.  We are just starting our second year of the Dillner Family Farm CSA.

CSA = Community Supported Agricultural Group, a partnership between the growers and the consumers that seeks to recognize the importance of healthy food and the manner in which it is grown.  Each week for 22 weeks from June-October, we pick up our "share" of produce at a local drop off (in our case, our friend's home).   

I will also be sharing pictures of our crop share from time to time - but more likely will share what we MAKE from the fresh goodies we receive.  Since picking up our first share last June - we have tried several new vegetables that we might never have picked up off the grocery store shelf.  And now, our young girls are excited to "check out" the goodies when their Dad walks in the door on Thursdays. 

You can find a local CSA by visiting: http://www.localharvest.org/

SO - get out there - BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL.....OR.....PLANT YOUR OWN GARDEN!!!!

Until next time...Be Well!

Let's Get Digging!

Welcome to my first post!!! I am excited to begin this new ‘garden’ of sorts as a place to share and cultivate my passion for fitness, healthy food, inspiration and overall wellness.  This blog has long been on my mind and in my heart. 

As a busy mom of three with a plate-full, I am now, more than ever, ready to create a place that you can come to find positive encouragement, healthy recipes, fit facts and tips for creating a healthy lifestyle in your own family.

 I am truly excited and hope you will enjoy and follow along with me…so let’s pick up some gloves, a shovel…and some sunscreen and get digging!!!