A Different Dinner Perspective

How about a big, green salad with a side of pasta?

Combine with stairs, stairs, and more stairs! Stairs are NOT the enemy.  They are a way to get from point A to point B while strengthening your legs and core.  When in doubt, take the stairs!

What is your favorite functional, day to day exercise? Leave a comment!

Everything Soup

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight?  Make Everything Soup!  It has a little bit of everything and is a great way to get some vegetables and protein in your diet.

Start out with...vegetables!  I used carrots, zucchini, onions, potatoes and celery.  I boiled them until they were soft in low fat/low sodium chicken broth.  I then threw in some potatoes, corn, chickpeas, dried barley, diced tomatoes and seasoning and let it simmer until the barley was cooked.  If your soup gets too thick, add some water.  If the water flattens the flavor, add some chicken bouillon.

This is delicious served with homemade bread!  Get creative and add your favorite veggies and seasoning. 

Combine with an exercise partner.  Call up a friend, family member or get that spouse of yours to exercise with you.  Exercise brings you closer together and you may find yourself working harder to impress the other guy!  Bribe them with homemade soup!

Let me know what you think! Leave a comment!

Buckwheat Bounty

*Warning*
The following post may alter the way you eat pancakes for the rest of your life!


I have a challenge for you today.  Go to your local farmer's market, food festival, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Market...even the organic/natural food sections of Kroger or Giant Eagle, and buy something you have never, ever cooked with.  It could be a Mediterranean pasta you've never heard of, or a vegetable you only see in magazines.  Take it home, do some research (learn something new!), find a recipe that sounds delicious and MAKE IT.  Expand your horizons!  Eating is like exercise...you have to mix it up in order to see positive results!

I know I have posted recipes for buckwheat pancakes in the past, but this recipe is a little different.  Mr. PT and I did some exploring at a local farm festival in the fall and came across a buckwheat grinder.  The millers were literally grinding the buckwheat in front of us and selling the flour in bags for $3.  I thought to myself, wow, I've used buckwheat pancake mix in the past, but this could be an interesting experiment!  Homemade, from scratch, no boxes...I was up to the challenge.

Sure enough, I found a simple recipe online, followed the instructions, and voila!  A Sunday breakfast like no other!  So if you need a simple but different ingredient to get you out of your cereal box, try this out.

You will need:
1 cup buckwheat flour 
1/2 tsp. salt 
2 tsp. baking powder 
2 eggs, beaten 
1 cup whole wheat flour 
1 tbsp. brown sugar 
1 tbsp. oil or melted butter 
2 cups milk, or 1 cup water and 1 cup milk

Heat up your griddle!

Sift the flour (buckwheat flour tends to lump) and stir together all dry ingredients using a whisk or large fork.
 

 Stir in milk, beaten eggs and oil, mix.

Pour a circle of the pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Buckwheat pancakes take a little longer to bake than other pancakes. Wait until small bubbles appear on the surface before turning them using a wide spatula.

You can adjust the thickness of the batter by adding more milk or water.
A teaspoon of vanilla can be added for extra flavor, if you want!

You will want to eat these hearty cakes with real maple syrup.  Yes, it is pricey, but yes, it is worth it.

Eat with a side of yogurt and fresh fruit to touch on a few more food groups.

Delicious!  By the way, did you know that buckwheat is actually a fruit?  It is gluten free, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol, and contains GOBS of fiber and protein.

Combine with the most basic exercise equipment you could ask for...concrete, grass, and a bench!  Use these three tools for the following exercises:
-running/walking/sprints
-shuffles, hops, grapevines
-lunges, backwards and forwards
-squats
-high knees
-leg raises/toe touches
-push-ups
-tricep dips
-ab series (crunches, cross-overs, planks)

Let me know what you think! Leave a comment!

Spend Time With Your Lunch!

I work in a school.  On a daily basis, I observe the wide spectrum of food choices people select for their mid-day meal.  A lot of kids and adults choose the school-bought lunch option.  I will give my school some credit, for they always offer milk instead of juice and a fruit/vegetable option.  Unfortunately, the fruit is often drowned in sugary syrup and the veggies look salty and wilted at best.

One of the best known secrets of good nutrition is to spend time with your food.  When it comes to lunch, this means taking 10 minutes the night before or in the morning before you leave for work to pack your lunch!  Yes, this requires time to not only put the lunch together, but also time spent at the grocery store picking up fresh products to pack.  Here is a good example of a lunch Mr. PT would eat:

Vanilla yogurt sprinkled with berries, grains and dried cherries, a banana, granola bar, and cheese with low-fat pepperoni.

I would go without the cheese/pepperoni, but this is a Mr. PT favorite.

I would recommend packing your lunch.  It requires a little extra effort, but you will end up making much better food choices than if you bought from a restaurant or cafeteria!

Combine with a "You Tube" workout.  Do a search for some Pilates, Yoga, Kickboxing, etc and see what comes up!  Make some room in your bedroom and sweat in the comfort of your own home for 30 minutes!

Let me know what you think! Leave a comment!

A New Year

I must apologize for my absence!  I could give a myriad of excuses dealing with school, traveling, and overall holiday craziness, but let's not get into it!

Instead, let's review the holiday season.  Mr. PT and I were able to spend time with friends here in town and travel to see old yet familiar faces.  And we ate a lot of great food!  You can imagine how this time of year can be a setback for people trying to stay healthy and fit.  However, with an optimistic mindset and some self control, I guarantee anyone can overcome being an outright glutton.

Some tips from a personal trainer to prevent holiday over-eating:

-Eat breakfast...it will prevent you from overeating later!

-When available, eat fruit and plain vegetables...if this means you have to stop at a grocery store and keep some bananas, apples and oranges in your car, do it!

-When at a restaurant, split a meal with your spouse or friend.

-Limit yourself to 1-2 "dessert" items a day and STOP when you reach your limit!

-Exercise...traveling can make this difficult, but Mr. PT and I still managed to get a few runs, walks and even a swim in!  Ask friends and family if they have a free pass to their gym, walk the family dog, run to a nearby playground and do some strength training.

-Drink drink drink water water water...alcohol may be flowing every night but that doesn't mean you have to be a sot!  Have 1 glass of wine or beer and drink water the rest of the night.  Allow yourself 1-2 nights of tipsiness, after all, it is the holiday season!

-Do not get discouraged...if you have a rough day for eating, tell yourself you'll do better tomorrow.  If you get down on yourself your poor eating habits will continue!

I realize this list is coming a little late to some, but the next holiday is right around the corner.  Or maybe you can read this list and think, wow, I actually did pretty well this year! Or perhaps you can use this as a starting point for some new year resolutions.

Either way, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I hope this new year of 2012 brings everyone joy, peace, and good health.  To life!

The Season for Soup: Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

If you have not noticed already, Mr. PT are big soup eaters in these colder months.  They are comforting, easy to make, and long lasting.  The perfect winter meal.

Here is another squash variety to try!  This one includes carrots, giving it an extra healthy boost.

You will need:
-3 cups peeled, diced butternut squash (about 1 small squash)
-2 cups thinly sliced carrot (4 medium)
-3/4 cup thinly sliced leek or chopped onion
-1 tbs butter or margarine
-2 14 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
-1/4 tsp ground white pepper (I used black and it was fine)
-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
-1/4 cup light cream or milk

In a large covered saucepan cook squash, carrot, and leek in hot butter over medium heat about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer covered for 25-25 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.  Cool slightly.

Place 1/3 of the squash mixture in a food processor or blender.  Cover and process or blend until almost smooth.  Repeat with remaining squash mixture.  Return all of mixture to saucepan.  Add white pepper and nutmeg; bring just to boiling.  Add light cream or milk, heat through.  Garish with pumpkin seeds and/or tarragon.  Serve with a nice, crusty bread.  Curl up next to the fire, turn on that football game and enjoy!

Combine with a day off...if you are an avid exerciser it's very important to give your muscles a day to recuperate.  Allowing your body the chance to rest will result in better workouts and a better functioning you.

Baker's Biscotti

Whether you like it or not, the holidays are here!  For me, that means spending more time with family and friends, filling the house with familiar decorations and smells, and enjoying the warmth of the season.

That is, when I'm not lying in bed sick with a nasty cold.  Unfortunately, along with the holidays comes the winter season which means cold and flu bugs are abundant.

Anyway, before I got this nasty virus, I was able to make one of my favorite Christmas treats, biscotti!  I got this amazing recipe from my Aunt Claudette who has quite the Italian background.  Mr. PT, who is not a moca drinker, loves this recipe because it produces a cookie that is soft and can be eaten on its own...dipping these biscotti into coffee is encouraged, but not necessary.

You will need:
-3 cups flour
-1 1/4 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-3 eggs
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 cup butter
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1 tsp almond extract
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp lemon zest
-1 cup almond slivers or your favorite nut
-1 cup dried fruit, optional (I use dried cranberries or cherries)

Grease your cookie sheet or cover in parchment paper.  Melt butter and let cool.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt.  Set aside.  Whisk eggs, sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest.  Gradually stir in dry ingredients.  Stir in nuts.

Form one large or four small logs from dough.  I make 3-4 small logs and flatten into a square.  Bake 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Let cool, then cut on the diagonal into slices.  Toast each side in the oven for 10 minutes to give it a little crisp.

You can wrap these up and freeze them for the holidays, drizzle them with icing to make them fancy, or snack on them straight from the oven!  They have  a wonderful flavor and are not too sweet.  Enjoy!  And remember, everything in moderation, even Christmas cookies!

Combine with some Pilates!  Find a class at your local gym or get yourself a video to follow at home.  You might re-discover your abdominal muscles!