Get tropical like a boss

Wow. Doesn't that look amazing? I promised you guys the recipe for a tropical salad, so here it is! My only regret is that I waited until the end of summer to try this deliciousness. Fresh pineapples were so expensive that I had to buy canned pineapple slices, NOT my preference. But it still tasted so wonderful and summer fresh!

Ingredients:
-Spinach (I always substitute spinach for lettuce, but naturally you can use romaine or whatever you want. Spinach is just packed with tons of nutrients, while most other lettuces are mostly water)
-Pineapple slices
-Mango slices
-Tomatoes
-Grilled chicken
-Vinaigrette dressing (optional, I didn't use any)

Grill the pineapple and mango slices either on a grill, in the oven (broil for 2 minutes on each side), or I did it using our George Foreman. Grill up some chicken. My sister Robin taught me to buy pre-made grilled chicken strips that you just throw on the stove for a few minutes. It's one of the best tricks in cooking that I've learned! Once everything is grilled, dice some tomatoes, spinach and throw the salad together. You could use a dressing but I prefer not to because it's just added calories, plus the juices from all the fruits and tomatoes are more than enough to compensate for vinaigrette.

Enjoy eating tropically!

Boring scientific note: Everyone knows that tropical fruits carry lots of Vitamin C. That much is fact. But there has been a rumor for a few decades that vitamin C boosts your immune system and prevents you from getting sick, especially with a cough or cold. The man who originally said this actually had very little scientific proof and few proven studies on that topic. Now there are actual well-drafted studies and tests proving that increasing your Vitamin C intake will NOT help prevent illness and will not boost your immune system. The most this vitamin can do is cut down on the amount of time your cold lasts, but only by a few days. So don't let vitamin companies try to trick you on that little rumor. But Vitamin C does do some awesome things! It's another antioxidant, which I talked in detail about in my smoothie post. Also, one form of vitamin C is called ascorbic acid. This type acts as a kind of glue that holds the tissues of your body together. That's why as nurses, we tell people with wounds to increase their vitamin C intake. Because we are trying to "glue" together their wounded tissues and the ascorbic acid is a huge help in doing that! 

Don't sweat it, like a boss

Not a few times have people told me, "I would like to exercise, but I just don't like sweating." And sometimes I think to myself, What?! How can you not love the perspiration dripping down your face letting you know that you've successful kicked butt at a workout? Then I realize, sweating is kinda gross. But exercise is so important! Each and every one of us needs some sort of exercise for our health. So here is some advice for people who aren't going to exercise for sweaty reasons. Just keep moving.

I got this advice from *FWDGF. The author actually makes fun of gym rats and people who sweat, which I don't like. As I stated before, sweat lets me know I pushed my body and that feeling is awesome!!! But what this author suggests is to just move your butt. And I have to agree with her. If hard core workouts aren't your style, that's fine. But don't be content with just sitting on the couch. Get up and move, no matter what it is. 

My favorite thing to "keep moving" is walk! Not only is it my favorite thing to do, but Cage absolutely loves it. I put him in his little umbrella stroller and we just go go go. By the way, has anyone noticed how umbrella stroller handles are ALWAYS too low and you have to hunch over just slightly? Seriously, it's annoying. You'd think someone out there would have figured a way to fix that by now. Anyway, we try to go on a walk almost every day. Walking is actually a cardio workout, just on a very mild level. But you don't sweat when you're just strolling along. 

In the picture above, Cage and I had just gone to the grocery store. Our store is about 1/2 mile away, so a trip there and back is 1 mile that we walked. I need fresh produce a few times a week, so quite often that's where we walk to. I have a general rule that if anything is within a 1 mile radius, I walk there (2 miles roundtrip!) This goes for the store, the park, the CVS- you name it, I walk it. If the weather is great outside, I may walk further than 1 mile to get somewhere. Cage would let me walk for hours before he'd complained, so it's a great activity for us.

Even though walking is a cardio exercise, that doesn't mean you can just walk around the block and you're done. If you're going to walk for exercise, you need to do it for at least 30 minutes a day. But, if you can't do 30 minutes a day, it's ok. Just do 10 minutes at a time. Three 10-minute walks a day and you're set to go! By the way, the walks do need to be at least 10 minutes of straight walking. You can't just walk around your house for 5 minutes at six different times and call it good. Just think, the average person walks about half a mile in 10 minutes. So if you walk for 30 minutes, you just walked 1.5 miles. That's huge! 

With walking, I suggest that you do it with someone. That way you can talk, chitchat, gossip and hopefully time will fly! Take anyone- your grandkids, your friends, your significant other. Take your kids, take your wife, take your husband- oh wait, sorry I thought I was Antoine Dodson for a moment. The point is enjoy your walk :-) Now, generally walking isn't going to make you break out in sweat- unless it's summertime and you're suffering from a toasty 102 degrees during the day (can you tell I'm suffering this right now?) In that case, you have two options. One is walk early in the morning or walk at night. Night is probably better if you want to walk with your spouse or significant other anyway. The other option is go walk inside, like a mall. I used to do this all the time when I was pregnant, although it was more to induce labor than for exercise! But you get what I'm saying- don't let excuses drag you down. Beat 'em, get up and walk! I really admired Dave's grandma because every night she would go for a walk. Without fail. Every single night. That's a woman who is trying to do the right thing for her health! 

The other thing I have to say about "keep moving" is to implement this in your home. You still need to walk daily because that will be your main source of exercise. But in addition, you should also be moving plenty around your house.That mostly means turn off the freakin TV. I grew up in a house where the TV was rarely on. I was kicked outside most of the time to play in our cul-de-sac. So therefore, I don't watch a lot of TV today. I won't even let my husband get cable because I know I'll never use it. But if you are someone that has your TV on constantly, it's time to think about giving it a vacation. If you are going to keep moving, it requires you to get up and do things. Some things I do to keep momentum throughout the day are play with my kid (especially hide and seek where we have to move around a lot) and household chores. Oh my lands, all the sweeping and mopping and vacuuming and scrubbing and ironing and dishes are enough to give anyone a workout. But you don't sweat doing normal housework. See how clever this plan is? I know a lot of people who like yard work and gardening and that's a great way to move it! But guess what- you gotta walk away from that black box. I've noticed that the only time I get sucked into TV is when I actually start watching it. So before settling down for a few hours to see your new shows (which I know you all will do because the fall shows are coming back soon,. And I am excited about that!), remind yourself that there must be moderation in all things- television included. I'm not saying don't ever watch it again. I'm just saying severely limit how much it's on and how much time you spend on the couch per day. KEEP MOVING. 

Ok, I'm off my TV soap box now. Sorry, that one topic just kinda hits a nerve with me. So basically, you don't need to sweat, but you DO need to move. Just tell yourself, I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it. You will be surprised how much your health will improve just from a 30 minute walk every day. And when you're not walking, keep the movement going inside your house. All right people, go have fun and don't sweat it! 

* French Women Don't Get Fat book

Boring scientific note: In some basic chemistry or physical science class, I learned that molecules moving faster create heat more than molecules just standing still. This can be applied to us, since our entire body is made up of molecules! And, metabolism requires a ton of molecules moving around to create energy. It's pretty much a movement factory. So when your body's molecules are moving faster, through vacuuming or walking or playing catch, that means that your metabolism HAS to speed up as well. If it doesn't speed up, you won't get the energy you need and will crash. So really, metabolism has no choice but to keep up with your body's activity level. When your metabolism speeds up, everything in your body starts moving faster. And since everything is moving faster, heat is created. The heat moves things around even faster. So just vacuuming for you is a workout for your molecules! When the heat builds up too much, like in a workout, your body needs to release it in some way to keep your body at a normal temperature. One of those ways is through sweating.  But if you just increase how much you move, your metabolism kicks up, everything inside you starts moving, heat builds and wallah- you are literally burning calories! But not moving around, decreases your metabolism. So when you're just sitting still, so is your metabolism. 

Get inspired like a boss

Oh. My. Gosh. I don't care who you are or what your goals are in life, PLEASE watch this movie. If this doesn't inspire or motivate you, then nothing will! I cried watching this movie and you probably will too (depending on the amount of estrogen in your system right now)

Also, if you feel the urge to yell, "You GO Arthur, you GO!" you're not alone. I actually yelled it out loud through my bursts of sobs.

This is all I'm posting today. Watch it.

Control yourself like a boss

Today, it's all about control. Portion control.

I had once had a nutrition professor tell me her personal story on this topic. She had flown to Europe with her husband on business. After several hours of being stuck on a plane, then dealing with foreign authorities and airports, she was hardly feeling perky. Her husband's European partners offered to take them to dinner, which lifted her mood quite a bit. When the waitress at the restaurant delivered their food, she took one look at the plate and was shocked. The size of the meal was fit for child. Having had a long day and not feeling her best, she blurted out, "That's it?!" The European businessman looked at her for a minute and then said, "That, that is the amount you are supposed to have. But you Americans are used to eating bigger portions than you need." Needless to say, she felt ashamed and realized that he was absolutely right. And the European meal did indeed end up being enough.

So yes, American portions have become extravagant, verging on absolutely ridiculous. But what's so sad is that we are used to eating that much, so to cut back makes us feel like we are STARVING! When I was trying to lose weight and tried some portion control, I did not feel good the first couple of days. But afterwards, my stomach got used to it. And I am much better off.

At first, I didn't know how to do portion control at all! But then I researched the government's "Choose Your Plate" and that helped me figure out what my meals should look like. Also, taking a few nutrition classes in my nursing program helped too ;-). So the Choose Your Plate program shows how much of certain foods you need in your meals. But they make it sound really complex, like, "At dinner, protein should make up 40% of your meal". Yeah right, like I'm gonna measure my chicken to make sure it's exactly 40% of my meal. Please. Eating does not need to be rocket science people. I simplified their program into a meal plan that anyone can do, while still keeping all the key principles! However, if you still want to look at the program, here's the link: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

So here's the basis for meal planning. You take a plate and cut it in half (with your mind, not a knife). Then you take one of those halves and cut it in half again. So you should have 3 areas consisting of 2 quarter pieces and one half piece. One of those quarters is for carbs, the other is for protein. The other half of the plate is designated entirely for....Vegetables! YAY! Oh come on, get excited. So your plate should look like the one below.

Your carbs can be anything from pasta to bread to oatmeal. Most of your grains will qualify for the carbs section. So essentially, if you're going to have the spaghetti, you're going to have to give up the garlic bread. Remember, it's all about moderation and portion control! It only gets one quarter of a plate for a reason.

Proteins are mostly going to be your meats, but eggs, beans, and peanut butter are also in the protein category. I learned something mind-blowing about meat in one of my nursing classes. Ready? Your meat portion should only be the size of your palm. Not the whole hand including fingers. Just the palm of your hand. When I told my steak-loving husband about this, I almost feared for my life (sarcasm there). 

And the vegetables. Well, they take up half the plate for a reason. First of all, they are really really good for you. Packed with tons of vitamins and not so many calories. I try to eat the vegetables on my plate before moving on to the other areas. That way, if I end up getting full halfway through the meal, at least I ate the quality, less caloric, less fatty item.  Half a plate of vegetables is much better than a 11 oz steak. Please understand, I'm not harping on carbs and meats. I love them just as much as the next guy. Your body needs them too, just in much smaller portions.

Your dairy should be included in some meals, but you don't need so much that it gets its own area. It generally gets incorporated into the meal somehow. Usually this will be the cheese in your salad or a side of yogurt with your lunch. If you need, pour yourself a small glass of milk (I don't like this option though, because water is sooooo much better).

I am putting a picture of an ideally portioned meal, one that I served just recently at my house.
Notice how the veggies take up half the plate. I used salad for my vegetable item. The pasta takes up the upper quarter of the plate, and the chicken parmesan takes up the lower quarter. There is cheese covering the chicken, so that's my dairy. Like I said, this type of dinner is fairly common at my house, so you don't need to spend hours and dollars at the store trying to find super healthy food. And it can be something that tastes oh so delicious too! Just use portion control and you're set to go. By the way, sorry for the crappy picture. I was using paper plates that night, as I neglected to do dishes that day. Hey, no one's perfect. Also, you don't have to always separate your meats and pasta. I mean, are you seriously going to do that when you have meatballs and spaghetti? Just make sure that if you DID separate the items, they wouldn't take up more than a quarter plate each. 

So anyway, that is your plan for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is different only in the sense that you have half a plate of fruit instead of veggies. Say it with me...YAY! Here is what an ideal breakfast would look like. Eggs for protein, one slice of toast for carbs (I know it looks like more than a quarter of a plate, but the rule with bread is that one slice=a quarter of a plate), and yummy strawberries. The yogurt is the dairy here. Also, remember my smoothies (click here if you don't: http://healthylikeaboss.blogspot.com/2012/08/make-smoothies-like-boss.html)? They are the perfect breakfast, as they have tons of fruit, oats for the carbs, peanut butter for protein, yogurt and milk for dairy. Bingo!

And if you are still hungry after these perfectly portioned meals? I suggest that you wait at least half an hour, to see if you are actually still hungry. Sometimes waiting gives your stomach a chance to catch up with all the food you ate and it realizes that you actually are quite satisfied. If after half an hour you still feel like you are starving, load up on two things: more produce (try fruit if you just had veggies and vice versa. Variety does wonders for your diet), or more water. These things are low in calories, but will expand your stomach and trick your mind into thinking you're full.

Allright friends, go start meal planning! Speaking of fruits and veggies, I have a delicious tropical salad that I'm dying to try for dinner tonight. If I like it, I'll post the recipe :-)

 Boring scientific note: There is this wonderful thing called peristalsis. On a very basic level, it moves the food from our stomach to our intestines. Let me explain further what it is. Your stomach is made of muscles. When these muscles sense food in the stomach, they contract and puuuuuuuuullll the food in different directions to break it up. Once the food is in smaller pieces, it can move to the small intestine. Now you know that all your muscles are controlled by nerves in your brain right? Well there is this one nerve called the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is stimulated by food in the digestive system and then it tells the stomach muscles to contract. However, if there is a lot of fatty food in the stomach, a hormone is released that actually keeps the vagus nerve from being stimulated. If the vagus nerve can't be stimulated, peristalsis can't start. So fatty foods actually slow down your digestion, which can cause all sorts of bloating, digestion problems, and constipation. And that is only one of many reasons to keep your meats and animal proteins to only a quarter plate. 

Add-vocado like a boss

Have you jumped on the avocado bandwagon yet? If not, better hurry because the avocado movement is sweeping the country! I've heard more about avocados this year than I have in my whole life. Maybe it's because they were never present in my house while growing up. Or maybe it's because America really is going crazy for those deliciously tasty vegetables! I recently took a roadtrip to see my family in Arizona and saw a couple of these signs on the way there.

Like I said, it's sweeping the nation. I love those little delectable veggies! They are so filling and if you know how to use them, you never regret buying them. A few weeks ago I spent FOUR HOURS up and down the coast of California looking for a great deal from the local avocado growers. My dad called me during those four hours and when I told him what I was doing, he said, "You know what, I love avocados. But I just don't know what to use them in." And that my friends, is what I am here to help with!

Avocados are full of healthy components and they taste fantastic! I'm going to show you my favorite recipes for avocados. I hope you try and enjoy them as much as I have.

Avocado Salad

Essentially, you can add avocados to ANY salad and I promise you, it will only improve the flavor. But here is one of my favorite salads to throw a little avocado on.

Salad Ingredients:
Spinach (as replacement for lettuce)
Diced tomatoes
Chickpeas
Zucchini (sliced and broiled for 2 minutes)
1 avocado diced
Feta cheese

Dressing:
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I always go very light on the dressing, as this salad just has SO much flavor, it really doesn't need much help. 

Many of you kitchen experts probably know how to cut and dice an avocado, but I didn't and had to look it up on Google. For those of you who were like me, let me save you the Google search. Cut an avocado lengthwise and twist. It should pop open. Remove the seed (I usually stick a knife in it and pop it out). Cut the avocado in several strips, first horizontally and then vertically, so you should end up with a grid pattern. Then scoop out the avocado insides! I put a picture up of how the avocado grid should look. Wallah! It sounds harder than it actually is. Still I'm pretty sure I'm asking Santa Claus for an avocado slicer for Christmas...

Ok, so my second recipe is a newfound love of mine. I know, I have so many newfound loves when it comes to produce. But this is seriously good guys! Welcome my love, avocado chicken salad.

Avocado Chicken Salad

1 avocado
1 thing of canned chickenSliced green onionsCilantro (finely cut)
Lime juice to taste
Garlic salt to taste
--Mush all the ingredients together until the chicken salad looks smooth. Add to toast or make a sandwich.

Um, notice anything fantastic about this chicken salad? NO MAYO! That's one way for sure to eat better. The mushed avocado provides a taste very similar to mayo, but none of the processed fat!


The last recipe I am recommending is a simple blend of vegetables. But the flavors are so perfectly matched and blended, it's like these guys were made for each other!

The Best Veggie Snack Ever

Half an avocado
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
Cilantro (finely cut)
1/4 cup cucumber
Lime juice and garlic salt to taste
--Mix all the ingredients together until you can't stand it another minute and just have to gobble it up!

The picture isn't a great one, but if any of you have worked with avocado before, you know that when it's mixed around, it doesn't look pretty. But I really really really want you to try this whenever you're in a snacking mood. The avocado is a filling vegetable and the others are simply too good to pass up! This has been my afternoon snack several times and it never disappoints. Your taste buds will thank me, I promise.

So that's all for my avocado lecture. But basically, add avocado to almost anything and it the dish will improve. It's a vegetable you're adding, but a very filling and satisfying one. And don't judge it by it's weird green appearance either. I'm pretty sure that the green egg from Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" was actually a misjudged avocado.

Boring scientific note: You may think all fat is bad, but guess what? It's not! That's one of the reasons why avocados are so healthy and so filling! Because they are filled with polyunsaturated fats. Why is this better for you? Well the negative things you hear about fat are talking about saturated fats. These are fats from animals, like steaks, beefs, and cheese. In the MOST BASIC sense, the saturated fats have a chemical structure, where all the atoms are lined up nice and steady. This makes saturated fats pretty solid and stable, making it harder for the body to break it down. If the body can't break it down, chances are it will stay and clot your systems. However, unsaturated fats are great because there are kinks in it's chemical structure. The kinks make the fat molecule unstable, so it's a breeze for the body to digest and break those down! In fact, these unsaturated fats are so awesome that they help decrease blood cholesterol, which always means a healthier heart and less chance for heart disease. If I were you, I would become best friends with avocados too. (Note that there must be moderation in all things. Eating tons and tons of unsaturated fats, like eating too much of anything, will have a negative effect)