Peace and Fitness

50 Shades of….Green

April 23, 2012 by bonni Leave a Comment

Shades of Green Looking along the field margin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

People often ask me my opinion about drinking “green” drinks, and honestly I don’t know enough about the many brands of premixed greens that are out there, but yesterday, being Earth Day (and coming off a night of eating and drinking too much) I decided to make my own. Out came the blender and in went lettuce, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley and of course some fruit to sweeten it up. I added half of a pear and half of an apple along with some frozen blueberries. Just a couple of ounces of water, the juice of half a lemon, and a couple of ice cubes, hit blend and I had a no longer actually green (those blueberries really killed the color) green drink. Next time NO blueberries—maybe strawberries would have worked better, or half of an already frozen banana. I had a about 6 ounces and put the rest, still in the blender, in the fridge for the next few mornings. While I wont say its the yummiest drink ever, it wasn’t at all bad and it is really, really great for everything. Filled with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals it is a great way to help clean the liver, nourish cells and get in a great dose of veggies! Did you know that half the calories in spinach are from protein? What a bonus for someone on a plant-based diet.

To further celebrate Mother Nature and our home, Earth, Mitch and I spent time cleaning up outside. It seems like I pulled thousands (literally) of weeds, cleaned up the veggie and herb gardens and removed a lot of branches from a highly overgrown palm tree. Before coming inside, it was time to pull up a bunch of carrots from the garden and highlight them in a simple, non-fattening veggie soup. Along with the carrots, I cut up celery, garlic, onions and zucchini. Along with one can of veggie broth and about 5 cups of water, I threw in some fresh oregano and parsley and cooked until the veggies were soft. Drinking soup before a meal is known to decrease the amount of calories consumed at the meal, so I am big on soup but it has to be low in calories or else the math doesn’t really work. Mitch brought some brussel sprouts home from the market and I roasted them, halved, with some cut up sweet potato. That is one of my favorite looking and tasting vegetable dishes. After dinner, I made a small shake with frozen banana, plain soy milk and a little peanut butter. It really hits the spot when looking for something sweet and filling.

I was really pleased to learn that Derek, who has been raising a baby squirrel since it fell out of a tree at just a few days (if that much) old, was able to set the little guy free in the park yesterday. It’s never easy to set something (or someone) free to live life as they should when we get emotionally attached, but you did a great job, Derek, and made Earth Day a special day for you and your little friend.

A special thanks, Carole, for the Stone Soup Story which I will be sharing on here soon! Just one more reminder of what we can do when we connect with others. Stay connected everyone…in peace…in fitness and in life!

Filed Under: Food, health and happiness, Holidays and celebrations ·

Over the Rainbow

April 12, 2012 by bonni Leave a Comment

This is my own work, Photo by Gila Brand.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Earlier this week I saw an episode of Dr. Oz where one man set out to try ALL the diets on the market to find out what works and what doesn’t (and then write a book, of course). His big take away was:

1) Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the aisles. I thank Carole for sharing this tip with Mitch and I many years ago. It’s a great one.

2) Eat the colors of the rainbow. He got that tip from his vegan friends. There is no arguing that by doing this we are filling our bodies with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and lots of other big words that all translate to good health while consuming minimal calories.

3) Eat like a baby, which simply means use small plates, bowls AND utensils.

You may notice none of his top tips were anything fancy or any special combinations or deletions of foods or worse yet, food groups. Though he set out on this journey for information, he did lose about 20 pounds. He had a lot of interesting tips on getting people to eat more veggies, but I can’t advocate dipping veggies in sugar or adding crunch to a salad by topping it with a few Cheetos. I just can’t. He did have one kindof crazy suggestion about taking a swig (but then spitting it out) of an energy drink before a workout. Claims that the body will think it had some sugar, but it really didn’t, and you will have a more energized workout. I can’t help but think there might be some rebound effect…if the body thinks it had sugar, wouldn’t it want more later?? Not sure on that one. I admit I did it that night before heading to the gym for 2 classes. I can’t say it made a difference either way. Try it and let me know what you think. Finally, he had a suggestion for leg cramps that many of us who workout suffer from. He said (and Dr. Oz agreed that there is scientific proof of this) that 2 ounces of pickle juice will stop a cramp in 85 seconds. As one who suffers with occasional thigh cramps during the night that are incredibly painful, I might have to try this. Dr. Oz says we used to think it was the salt and potassium in pickles that worked for cramps but given how quickly this supposedly works, he claims there is something more going on that is detected in the tongue, and eases the spasm.

I wake up grateful this morning for the arrest of George Zimmerman. Sometimes you have to hold tight during a waiting game and hope that the process is just taking time. What a well spoken, bright special prosecutor they brought in to handle this case.

Vegan Feast Thursday returns after a few weeks off. Can’t wait to see the “kids.” If you are coming, bring your appetite for some new dishes. Also, barley lentil soup is already made. Fresh string beans from the garden will be just a part of the many colors of the rainbow.

As always, I thank you for stopping in for a quick read. Have a fabulous day and as you choose YOUR foods for the day, consider the colors of the rainbow, which would make for a great meatless meal (or 2). Thanks for taking care of yourselves and each other. Much love.

Filed Under: Food, health and happiness, vegan thursday, weight loss ·

The More We Know

April 2, 2012 by bonni Leave a Comment

Skimming through some health and fitness articles the past few days, I found the following tidbits worth sharing…

**According to science out of New Zealand, cyclistists who downed drinks with lower carb and sodium concentrations exercised longer and harder than those who had Gatorade or Powerade. Try something less concentrated like G2, or my personal version of a sports drink which is mostly water with just an ounce or two of Gatorade mixed in. In a different, but related article about hydration: Dehydrated athletes not only run slower than hydrated ones, but they may also be in a worse mood and feel less energized after a run. Signs of dehydration include headaches, fatigue, thirst (duh!) and inability to concentrate. Weigh yourself before and then right after a big fitness event to learn if you need to drink more during it. Then re-read the first part of this paragraph.

Dental floss Deutsch: Zahnseide (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unusual use #46 for using dental floss. Researchers at New York University found that people with precancerous gastric lesions were nearly 3 times as likely to report that they flossed more infrequently, as the people who didn’t have the lesions. YuChen, Ph.D., M.P.H., explains that if your don’t maintain good oral hygeine, bacteria that builds up in your mouth can eventually migrate to your stomach, where they can trigger cancer causing inflammation. I find that keeping floss in more places than just the bathroom (ie, purse and car) makes flossing daily more likely.

By now most of us know that color has a lot to do with the values of food and the richer the color, the richer the value. Blueberries are a super food for the brain, high in vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants called flavonoids. Blueberries actually improve memory and learning and delay age-related cognitive decline like that seen with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Toss them into a smoothie, on a salad or just pop em like candy.

Finally, this statistic made me chuckle. Our thoughts are so easily manipulated, it’s kind of frightening….Apparently in a study of amateur golfers told that they were using a PGA players putter, (but in actuality, they weren’t) they improved their putting by a whopping 38%.

So drink your not too salty, drinks…floss your teeth…eat your berries and above all believe in YOU!

Filed Under: Fitness, Food, health and happiness ·

Simply Soup-er

March 30, 2012 by bonni 2 Comments

What a great, great party last night. Well over 100 people came out last night to support Lesley and Richards fund-raising event for the soup kitchen. The theme was soup-er and everyone who attended, no doubt, had a soup-er time. Really, who has 2 bars in one backyard? The Epsteins do because they most definitely know how to throw a soup-er party. It was absolutely wonderful to be a part of the love and as a result of last week’s class and this blog, through my students and family I was able to present checks totally $800.00. That’s a lot of meals and a lot of mouths fed. Thanks for your soup-er generosity and support. Though this event is over, it is our hope to continue to spread awareness about the hungry. If we could all do just a little of that, all over the country, all over the world, we could make a big impact on hunger. Don’t we all remember our parents telling us to “eat up,” because there are people starving?!? Well, just because other people are hungry, we do NOT want to overeat! That just makes us a more disconnected society. Why should some have so much more than enough, throwing out leftovers and unused food when others could benefit. There are so many ways we can bridge the gap, if we only stay aware. On my way out, Mitch and I took a couple of treats from the Conscious Cupcake display. So beautiful and so good, Liz…and it was great talking with you in person! A special thanks, too, to Jon, Jeff, Deb and Nicole of JJR Photography. Need pics? They are the ones to go to.

Ironically, my Real Age health tip of the day is ….a soup-er way to lose weight! Yup, a simple reminder that people that eat more soup, lose more weight. Take the leftover vegetables (pretty much any of them) and cut them up and throw them in some water, and cook up a big pot of vegetable soup. You can add some protein with some beans ( or chicken if you must!) If you keep the soup high in vegetables and low in fat and sodium (you can add some broth, just watch the sodium content) you can drink your soup all day long and watch your waistline shrink. Soup. It does a body good.

Wishing you all a soup-er Friday. You know I HAD to say that

Filed Under: Food, The Soup Kitchen, weight loss ·