Wednesday, September 28, 2011

It's Fall! Time for Quick Soups!


Fall weather makes me want warm bowls of soup. And quick soups are a great way to squeeze in lots of veggies and nutrition into a meal, and they can keep in the fridge as easy leftovers for snacks or other meals. Eating Well magazine has a great list of 30-minute Soups, and as your resident foodie chef, I've chosen my favorites for your healthier living:
Sweet Potato Peanut (make sure you have fresh peanut butter, not loaded with preservatives or sweetneers)
Chicken and White Bean (beans have great fiber and we all need more of it!)
Salmon Chowder (wild salmon, yum!)
Vietnamese Beef Noodles (you can swap out the rice noodles and use mung bean noodles for better nutrition -- and they really taste the same to me)

With any of the veggie soups, pair up with a lean protein and you've got a full meal!
Whenever they suggest pairing up their soups with caesar salad (high-fat) or garlic bread (simple carbs), please know that those 2 items are *not* slim-body friendly foods and judge your portions wisely if you eat those items.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Swimming is so good for you


Swimming is so good for you because of these benefits:
* Works your entire body - toning all muscles. Athletes like runners really need to cross-train to get core and upper body toned. Try running in water like you're using an elliptical with your arms under the water. You'll see how it's not easy to run in water and your arms will get tired too!
* Gentle on your joints (you only have 1 pair of knees for life and you don't want to join the growing statistic of increasing knee and hip surgeries). If you have joint pains, consider taking this joint support formula to help improve your recovery. Also contact us or your health professional for appropriate therapeutic stretches as necessary.
* Great for cardio because the more muscles you use, the more your heart is challenged to pump the blood around. You don't need to be a good swimmer--you can just do resisted walking or play with the floaters in the shallow end of the pool.
* Water is calming and helps de-stress your mind-body system. de-stressing is very important for healthy weight loss and optimizing your wellness.
* Pregnant women get relief from feeling heavy -- everyone feels lighter thanks to the buoyancy of the water. If you are overweight or feeling weak (recovering from injury or working on post-partum fitness), this allows you to do more exercises and spend more time progressing in your cardio.
* Play with equipment and floating toys -- it varies your workout and when you have more fun, you're likely to do more! If you're not a strong swimmer, a friend might help keep you moving more and it becomes a social occassion -- also good for de-stressing!