Tag Archives: maintaining a healthy weight

Plan Your Produce

Cooking meals at home helps your family eat healthy and save money, but if you don’t shop with a plan, you can end up throwing expensive produce away. It’s happened to most of us at some point. You head to the grocery store with good intentions, buy a lot of random produce,—because with ten pounds of broccoli in the house, you can’t fail to lose weight, right?—and then half of that produce spends the next two weeks being nudged closer and closer to the back of the fridge before it’s finally tossed in the trash. It’s frustrating and discouraging. For you and for the produce.

2014 June 003 The solution to this problem is to plan your produce. Here’s how.

Choose one day a week to sit down and plan your meals for the week. If you’re new to cooking at home, pick one or two meals. Baby steps, baby spinach, baby bellas, baby got back on track. Try to choose menu items that share common vegetables. For example, a bag of spinach can make a spinach salad and a mushroom spinach omelet, or one head of cabbage can make Mu Shu Vegetables and Fried Cabbage. As you plan, make a shopping list of what you need to cook the recipes you’ve selected.

Take your list to the store and don’t stray from it. There are going to be produce items that you always keep on hand like garlic and onions, and items that you only buy when you need them like bell peppers and broccoli. It all depends on your family and your preferences. For example, I always have carrots in the house. My boys like to snack on them (when given the choice of carrots or nothing), I like to mindlessly crunch them in front of the TV, they’re cheap, and they’re useful in a plethora of recipes. It’s a staple. Cauliflower, on the other hand, only comes home with me when I have a plan for it. It’s like the out of town relative you enjoy having over, but feel like you have to entertain.

End the week with either a batch of homemade vegetable soup or veggie stir fry. Take your leftover bits and stems and combine them into something wonderful. Now your fridge is reset for the week to come and nothing goes to waste.

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. Genesis 25:29 (NIV)

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: cook at home, Diet, food, healthy living, homemade meals, maintaining a healthy weight, meal planning, produce gone bad, Weight loss. Leave a comment

Apr. ’16

Don’t Pop Your Tires

(This is a repeat, but a good reminder!)

I don’t remember which weight loss blog I read this on, but I’ll never forget the quote: “When you get a flat tire, you change it and keep driving; you don’t pop the other three tires”. Fabulous, right?

We all have times when we fall off the health wagon. Why did I eat that? Why did I eat ALL of that? Why did I stay up so late? Lifting sofa cushions to find the remote counts as exercise, right?

There are weeks when my butt is firmly seated in the health wagon and I’m buckled up and facing front. There are also weeks when I’m more like a little kid who’s hanging over the side trying to hit the wheel with a stick. I’m still in the wagon, but I’m being stupid. I reach a little too far and suddenly I’m eating dirt. (Low in calories, but not recommended. It tastes awful, even covered in chocolate… I mean broccoli.)

What do you do when you fall off the health wagon? You get back on. Make better choices starting now, but don’t beat yourself up about the ones you already made. If beating yourself up counted as exercise, I’d say “Knock yourself out!” But it’s not, and that was a great pun, wouldn’t you agree?

In ten years it won’t matter that you fell, it’ll matter that you didn’t stay down in the dirt. Is falling off the wagon frustrating? You bet. Painful? Sometimes. Embarrassing? Sure. But you still have three good tires. Each day is a new day and each morning you wake up on the wagon. And next time that little kid won’t lean out quite so far to hit the wheel with a stick. Perfection is not realistic, so we’re not aiming for perfect here, we’re aiming for not-stupid.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

How have you handled a fall from the health wagon? What helps you get back on or stay on?

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Putting It All Together. Tags: Diet, diet fail, falling off the wagon, healthy living, humor, maintaining a healthy weight, Weight loss. 5 Comments

Jan. ’16

Southwest Salad Recipe

Southwest Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups lettuce, chopped

1 cup chopped or sliced vegetables of your choice: carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, mushroom, broccoli, etc.

1/4 cup black beans

1/4 cup turkey or chicken

1 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

3 tortilla chips, crushed

3 Tb salad dressing – Ranch Southwest OR mix your own using 3 Tb any Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing and a few drops of hot sauce

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Recipes. Tags: bean on salad, healthy living, maintaining a healthy weight, southwest salad recipe, summer salad. Leave a comment

Jan. ’15

Your Genes Don’t Determine Your Jean Size

Last month the New York Times ran an article called How Exercise Changes Our DNA. That’s right, folks, DNA. We usually think of exercise in terms of bellies and biceps, lungs and love handles, but the effects of exercise go much deeper than that; literally to the core of who we are.

A recent study showed significant changes to the genes in exercised muscles. The study participants exercised one leg, but not the other, on a bicycle. After three months, the exercised leg’s DNA had changed and the lazy leg’s hadn’t.

I’d like to make 3 points based on this research.

The participants exercised their loner leg for a total of 3 hours per week, not per day, and that exercise made a difference for Loner Leg. Three hours per week is an attainable goal for all of us, even those of us who identify more with Lazy Leg than Loner Leg.
Exercise helps your body be healthy from your genes to your jean size. If you are exercising, but lament the lack of visible changes in the mirror, don’t give up: healthy, positive changes are happening, you just need a microscope to see them.
Genetic predisposition can’t hold you back. The genetic wiring you’re born with does not control who you become: you do. You might be genetically predisposed to heart disease, obesity, or diabetes, but the actions you take can change your genes. It’s like training a dog: certain breeds have known tendencies toward stubbornness, sweetness, or aggression, but all breeds can be trained.

We’re a couple of weeks into the New Year, when most people slacken their resolve to get healthy. (No statistics to back me up here, just personal experience.) Don’t give up; don’t leave your dog half-trained. Your genes and your jeans will thank you!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SEX: Sleep and Exercise. Tags: cartoon, effects of exercise, exercise and DNA, maintaining a healthy weight, Physical exercise. Leave a comment

Jan. ’15

Diet Dictionary: New Year’s Revolution

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Cartoons. Tags: cartoon, Fruit and Vegetable, healthy living, humor, maintaining a healthy weight, New Year's, Vegetable. 3 Comments

Dec. ’14

Ginger Bread With Broccoli (Shhh, don’t tell my kids)

What says “Merry Christmas” and “Eat your vegetables” all at the same time? Broccoli Ginger Bread! This recipe comes from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious cookbook. The beauty of molasses and ginger is that you neither see nor taste the broccoli and carrot purees this recipe calls for. Even my picky eater eats it. And, as we discussed last week, broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, so it’s a dessert that helps fight cancer. Doesn’t get much better than that! (I’ve paraphrased the recipe instructions a bit because I’m too lazy to type every word.)

Merry Christmas, enjoy your bread, and I’ll see you in January! Keep your body moving; every little bit of exercise is beneficial.

Gingerbread Spice Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp EACH baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon

1/4 tsp EACH ground cloves, allspice, salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup broccoli puree (I thawed frozen broccoli and stuck it in the food processor with the oil)

1 cup carrot puree (Steam or boil carrots, puree in food processor or blender. Or use applesauce if you’re pressed for time)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tb grated orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9×5 loaf pan.

2. Mix the flours and spices in a bowl, set aside.

3. Mix the sugar, oil, egg until smooth. Add the veggies, yogurt, molasses, vanilla and zest and mix again. Add flour mixture and mix until smooth.

4. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Or slice it steaming hot and blow on it to cool it between bites like I do. 🙂

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Interesting Tidbits, SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: broccoli dessert, cancer prevention, cruciferous vegetables, Deceptively Delicious, Ginger Bread, gingerbread, maintaining a healthy weight, recipe. Leave a comment

Nov. ’14

New Recipe: Monterey Beans and Cheese

We’ll talk about why beans are a cancer-fighter next week. This week I wanted you all to have a chance to taste how delicious beans can be. If you want a healthier version, you can omit the bacon and cheese; I keep them in because a little of each adds a lot of flavor. And I love cheese. This is easy and fast. If you want to play with the types of veggies you throw in, go for it! I’ve added zucchini, spinach..it’s all good.

This recipe came from the More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Longacre.

Ingredients:

2 slices of bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pepper, any color, chopped

2 cups cooked beans – kidney, black, etc., rinsed and drained (Canned beans are cooked and work great.)

2 ripe tomatoes, diced OR 1 can chopped tomatoes OR 3/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup beef bouillon (I don’t often have this on hand; I usually just sprinkle a packet of chicken bouillon. The tomatoes add enough water for my taste.)

1 tsp chili powder (I usually use 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

dash pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Fry the bacon, remove from pan, break into pieces.

2. Saute onion and pepper in the bacon fat until tender.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, lower the heat a bit, then simmer and stir occasionally until it looks blended (about 5 minutes). Serve over rice.

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: bacon and cheese, bean recipe, beans, delicious beans, easy bean recipe, low calorie diet, maintaining a healthy weight, Vegetable. Leave a comment

Jul. ’14

Cook It At Home

My mom sent me a link to this cool video on the benefits of cooking the food you eat at home (as opposed to letting a corporation cook it for you). I hope you check it out HERE; it’s short and good.

Mom, you should have shown me this video when I was three and THEN cooked me homemade meals for twenty years straight; I might have grumbled less about all the vegetables. You got it backwards, but that’s okay: I’m truly appreciating it now! 😉

For the Turkey Curry recipe shown in this picture, click here.

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Putting It All Together. Tags: healthy living, homemade meals, maintaining a healthy weight, nutrition, turkey curry. 1 Comment

Jul. ’14

Two Fisted Blueberry Recipes

During blueberry season each summer, my family eats about a pound of berries a day. I’d like to share a couple of my favorite blueberry recipes with you. They can be prepared in under a minute, are chock full of antioxidants, and have no added sugar or preservatives. As a bonus feature, if you try all three recipes in the next 24 hours, you get a free gentle colon cleanse.

Two Fisted Blueberries

1. Wash blueberries.

2. Grab two fistfuls of blueberries (don’t squeeze too hard unless your fists are hovering over toast and you’re looking to make Instant Jam).

3. Empty your fists into your mouth at a non-choking rate of speed and say “Mmm-mm-mm-mm-mmmmm”.

Blueberry Cereal

1. Fill bowl with blueberries. (Sometimes I add some Cheerios.)

2. Add milk and eat with a spoon.

3. When your children ask you what you’re eating, say “Blue Sugar Bombs, but you can’t have any”.

Two Fisted To Go Cup

1. Fill plastic cup with blueberries.

2. Carry it around with you and periodically shake berries into your mouth. This is great for car rides. Nothing draws stares at a red light like chewing your beverage.

“Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:11

And I’m so glad He did!