May 2009
Healthy Lunch Boxes for Kids and Adults
24/05/09 19:11 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Healthy Eating
It's easy to get stuck in a rut when packing lunches. When we can't cook or even warm up our food, our options are somewhat limited. But the standard lunch meat and cheese on bread with potato chips doesn't do much for our health.
Sometimes we just need to think outside of the box (or in this case, the lunchbox). With some creativity, we can pack healthy lunches for ourselves and our kids. Here are a few suggestions:
Main Dishes:
* Make some pasta salad. You can find kits with everything you need in the grocery store, or you can make your own to suit your tastes. Include vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers and onions to add flavor and nutrition. For the kids, try using pasta in interesting shapes.
* Roll up a fajita. Use leftover meat from dinner the night before, and add lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and some of your favorite light dressing or sauce. These make a great change of pace for kids, too.
* Have a turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. This is healthy and provides a nice change.
* Toss up a grilled chicken salad. Grill some organic chicken breasts the night before, slice them up, and add them to some salad greens. Add some shredded cheese and cherry tomatoes to make a nutritious and filling dish.
* Put some homemade soup or chili in a thermos. It's nice to have something warm for a change, especially in the winter.
* Make sandwiches with bagels instead of bread. Bagels are nutritious and filling, and they give you a break from plain old white or wheat bread.
Side Dishes:
* Pack some baby carrots, celery sticks or sliced cucumbers and a small container of hummus or vegetable dip.
* Send some yogurt with fruit and granola in your child's lunch. It will provide protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that your child needs.
* Keep fresh fruit on hand. When you're in a hurry, you can easily grab a piece and throw it in the lunchbox as a nutritious side dish.
* Whip up some fruit salad for an easy to make treat. Drain a can of fruit cocktail and add some chopped walnuts, marshmallows and sliced bananas soaked in lemon juice (to keep them from turning brown).
* Make your own trail mix. Mix your favorite kinds of nuts, raisins, dried bananas and cranberries, and granola.
Just because you eat your lunch out of a lunchbox, doesn't mean it has to be boring and lack nutritional value. Using leftovers creatively and putting a new twist on your sandwiches will help you and your kids get over the packed lunch doldrums.
Kristy Lee Wilson
Contact me
Sometimes we just need to think outside of the box (or in this case, the lunchbox). With some creativity, we can pack healthy lunches for ourselves and our kids. Here are a few suggestions:
Main Dishes:
* Make some pasta salad. You can find kits with everything you need in the grocery store, or you can make your own to suit your tastes. Include vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers and onions to add flavor and nutrition. For the kids, try using pasta in interesting shapes.
* Roll up a fajita. Use leftover meat from dinner the night before, and add lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and some of your favorite light dressing or sauce. These make a great change of pace for kids, too.
* Have a turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. This is healthy and provides a nice change.
* Toss up a grilled chicken salad. Grill some organic chicken breasts the night before, slice them up, and add them to some salad greens. Add some shredded cheese and cherry tomatoes to make a nutritious and filling dish.
* Put some homemade soup or chili in a thermos. It's nice to have something warm for a change, especially in the winter.
* Make sandwiches with bagels instead of bread. Bagels are nutritious and filling, and they give you a break from plain old white or wheat bread.
Side Dishes:
* Pack some baby carrots, celery sticks or sliced cucumbers and a small container of hummus or vegetable dip.
* Send some yogurt with fruit and granola in your child's lunch. It will provide protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that your child needs.
* Keep fresh fruit on hand. When you're in a hurry, you can easily grab a piece and throw it in the lunchbox as a nutritious side dish.
* Whip up some fruit salad for an easy to make treat. Drain a can of fruit cocktail and add some chopped walnuts, marshmallows and sliced bananas soaked in lemon juice (to keep them from turning brown).
* Make your own trail mix. Mix your favorite kinds of nuts, raisins, dried bananas and cranberries, and granola.
Just because you eat your lunch out of a lunchbox, doesn't mean it has to be boring and lack nutritional value. Using leftovers creatively and putting a new twist on your sandwiches will help you and your kids get over the packed lunch doldrums.
Kristy Lee Wilson
Contact me
|
Five Easy Toning Exercises You Can Do Anywhere
16/05/09 17:32 Filed in: General Fitness | Strength Training
Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.
Weight bearing exercises aren't just for bodybuilders. As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty, you begin to lose muscle mass. For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem. When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.
Here are five easy toning exercises that can be done anywhere and whenever you have time. At home, at the office, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet extremely effective exercises.
1. The Bridge Butt Lift - Sounds like a plastic surgery technique but it is an easy way to tone your buttocks. Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body. Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor. Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor.
2. Squats - Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps. If you aren't sure of proper form, you can use a chair. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted. Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair. Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight. Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release. At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning.
3. Reverse Lunges - Lunges work the quadriceps muscles. They can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides. Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90 degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot. From this position lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor. Hold for a count of two and return to starting position.
4. Pushups - This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles. If you aren't comfortable or strong enough to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees. Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body.
5. Crunches - Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone. Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor. Hold for two to five counts and return to starting position.
These five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage.
Contact me
Kristy Lee Wilson