This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

5 recipe websites to help you get inspired to eat better this summer

It’s surprising where you’ll find terrific online recipes that go with the Weight Watchers Momentum Plan. Of course, there is the Weight Watcher site. Then again, any website that offers nutritional information would work, and there’s a bunch out there by food companies, magazines and fitness gurus:

• Bob Greene’s TheBestLife.com has a list of of Best Life approved foods, like Skinny Cow and Flatout Flatbreads along with recipes. Read my review of Skinny Cow, Keeping trim with Skinny Cow ice cream treats, at my review blog, This Mama Cooks! Reviews.
• MakingLifeBetter.com has over a 100 healthy recipes using convenience products like Ragu sauce and Lipton teas. Read my review of the site at This Mama Cooks! Reviews: This summer get out of the kitchen with MakingLifeBetter.com.
• Taste of Home’s Healthy Living and Cooking website is a great resource for those with special dietary needs and features Diabetic, Heart Health, Low Fat, and Low Sodium recipes. There are also recipe makeovers and healthy menu plans. There is also an exclusive enewsletter and website just for Home Healthy Cooking magazine subscribers.
• Clean Eating is a new favorite magazine of mine that I came across during a shopping foray to Costco. The website has a limited number of recipes. But what they have a wealth of are shopping lists to go with the magazine’s 14-day menus. I really should treat myself to a subscription. But until then, I’ll sign up for the Clean Eating e-newsletter.
• EatingWell magazine also features recipes on their website. However, make sure you check the nutritional info before you make the recipes. eating well doesn’t always mean eating low calorie or low POINTS.

What are your favorite low calorie, healthy and diet recipe websites?

Check out my 5 Things/Ways advice posts for more tips on fitness, diet and getting healthy.

5 ways to trick, treat and have a healthy Halloween

Halloween is traditionally the biggest candy holiday. Did you know that 30% of kids report that they sort their candy first when returning home with trick-or-treat loot? Only 20% of kids savor it, while 16% share it, 14% stash it, and 7% swamp it.

Chocolate is kids’ favorite Halloween treat, followed by lollipops, gummy candy, and chewing gum. I’m glad to know that because I’m planning to get a bag of mini Hersey bars and some lollipops for the neighborhood ghouls. More than 93% of children go trick-or-treating each year, so I better get to the store soon!

These are just some of the findings from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) survey showing that since 2005, candy manufacturers have continued to expand their product lines to meet consumer demand for more "better for you" options for trick-or-treaters. One example is sugar-free product releases increased 51% from 2006 to 2007.

But like all treats, it’s all about moderation. Here are some tips on how to keep Halloween healthy for both kids and adults.

5 ways to get out of your diet or workout rut

Life has its ups and downs, and so does my weight it seems. I’m back on the heavy side again, even though I’ve been working out regularly when I haven’t been traveling. I’ve decided I’m in a diet and exercise rut and need to change it up to get back to where I want to be with my weight, eating habit and fitness routine.

Here are five things you can get out of your diet or workout rut:

1. Start a different exercise routine. Last year I was working out at the rec center down the street from my daughter’s preschool. Over the summer, I only used the exercise bike and some free weights. I’m not challenged anymore.

To change it up I started working out to Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred. The real title of this exercise video should be “Jillian Michaels comes to your house to kick your ass.” Besides that it’s challenging, I like it because it only takes 20 minutes a day (thank goodness!) and Jillian has you use big and small muscles at the same time for maximum calorie burn. You can view a video clip of the 30 Day Shred at Amazon.com.

2. Eat something different. Are you one of those people who eat the same thing for breakfast every day? Trying new foods that fit your diet or weight loss plan can help you get out of a weight plateau.

I’ve been exploring polymeal cooking based on the book Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why. (You can read my two posts on it at More polymeal cooking: antelope tenderloin with blackberry sage sauce and Healthy holiday polymeal cooking with the Healthiest Meals on Earth.) Even if you’re on a strict weight loss diet, you can use some of the recommended foods like fresh vegetables, garlic, fish, nuts and even an occasional nibble of chocolate or glass of wine in your food plan.

Try looking a old things in a new way, too. Maybe you want to get out your old cookbooks and modify some recipes. One book that I’m going to do this with is Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms-to-Be. No I'm not pregnant! However, the book is full of non-alcoholic mocktails that you can modify to make even healthier and lower in calories. Here's a sample:

Basil Pomegranate Lemonade
Pomegranates contain high concentrations of polyphenols, which are antioxidants and have been shown to inhibit the development of certain cancers.

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 basil leaves
• 2 oz. of pomegranate juice
• 4 oz. lemonade (substitute a sugar free lemonade or make your own with stevia and fresh lemon juice)
• 2 oz. lemon-lime soda (substitute a sugar free soda or use a lemon-lime flavored seltzer water)

Directions:

1. Mix basil and pomegranate juice in the bottom of a tall glass.
2. Fill the glass with ice.
3. Add the lemonade and the soda/seltzer and stir.

5 reasons why soup is healthy for dieters and everyone else

I'm having a get together next week and have decided to turn it into a "soup and salad" party. While doing my online research, I found out that soup is an excellent food for anyone trying to lose weight or eat more healthfully. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Eating soup helps cut your intake of food. By having a bowl of low-calorie soup prior to a meal, you can cut your total mealtime intake of amount of food and calories. According to Penn State researchers, diners consumed 20 percent fewer calories when they had both the soup and entree compared to when they did not have soup. The authors cautioned people to pick low-calorie, broth-based soups that are about 100 to 150 calories per serving.

2. Soup is convenient. Thank goodness for Amy's Soups. Not only are they organic, but many of them are low calorie, low fat, high fiber, vegetarian, and delicious! According to The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97% of people who ate soup as part of a low-calorie diet thought soup was a valuable part of their weight loss plan.

Whether you buy Campbell's, Amy's, Progresso, or a store brand, there are many terrific healthy choices for soup. Read the labels, pick the healthiest ones, and stock your pantry! Canned soup takes a few minutes to heat up. So if you always have it around, you won't be as tempted to cheat. Plus, it's easy to take to work, and you can often find healthy soup on the menu at most restaurants.

5 tips for eating out when you're trying to lose weight

One of the biggest challenges dieters face is eating at a restaurant. If you're on a diet with a fixed daily menu, it's impossible. It's one of the reasons I gave up doing the Extreme Fat Smash Diet. However, for those of you on more flexible weight loss plans like Weight Watchers, dining out is easier but not without its risks.

All the diets I've been on give you tips for how to eat at a restaurant. You know, things like "order the grilled fish with no sauce" or a "get a salad with dressing on the side." We all know how to follow those strategies. Instead, how about trying a new one:

Plan your restaurant meal before you leave the house

1. Choose the restaurant in advance and make reservations. No restaurants with a buffet or a mascot like Chuck E. Cheese. (Yuck!) Instead, pick a restaurant with a varied menu, so you can find something healthy to eat. Your best bets are seafood restaurants that grill (not fry) their fish, Japanese places for low-cal/high protein sashimi and miso soup, or one with an extensive salad bar. Also, when you make a reservation, your table is ready when you arrive (hopefully) so you don't spend time drinking and snacking in the bar.

2. Plan out your food budget before you go. Calculate how many Weight Watchers POINTS or calories you can use during the meal. Then stick with it!

3. Don’t leave the house famished. Have a light snack, like a piece of high fiber fruit or something with protein in it (nuts or a glass of skim milk) an hour before your reservation. Make sure you've had a few glasses of water or a cup of tea (bring a to go cup in the car) before you leave, too.

4. Get your exercise in earlier that day. If you can manage it, exercise then immediately go out to eat.
(Shower first and change your clothes, please!) That way your metabolism will be revved up and you'll be burning calories at a faster rate while you dine.

5. Go to the restaurant's website to plan what you're going to order. Or have them fax you a menu. Write down what you're going to order and any questions you have for the wait person. (Can I get it with brown rice? Instead of the potato, can I get some steamed veggies?) When you arrive, tell the hostess that you don't need a menu since you already know what you want to order. That way you won't be tempted to sabotage your plan.

For more Five Things/Ways advice articles, click here.

Click here to read how Outback Steakhouse is a great place for dieters, and those on gluten free, diabetic or low carb diets...

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5 Swiss ball exercise videos

Keeping with the ball theme started in last week's post, Get rid of flab quickly by using an exercise ball, here are five videos that demonstrate several kinds of exercises you can do with an exercise ball.

I do variations of the chest and shoulder presses as well as the abdominal exercises. I especially like using weights and an exercise ball at the same time. I feel I'm getting "more bang for my buck" and using my time more effectively.

Remember, exercise is not without its risks and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. To reduce the risk of injury in your case, consult with your doctor before beginning your exercise program. As with any exercise program, if at any point during your workout you begin to feel faint, dizzy, or have physical discomfort, you should stop immediately and consult a physician.

Do you use an exercise ball with or without weights? What exercises do you like to do?

For more Five Things/Ways advice articles, click here.

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5 ways to stay lean and green this St. Patrick's Day

As I travel through the grocery store I realize that another eating holiday - St. Patrick's Day - is upon us. Here are five ways to cope when Irish tummies are growling.

1. Beer - If you must have a beer this St. Patrick's Day, choose wisely. Instead of that nasty green Bud Light, treat yourself to a Guinness, Harp, Beemish or Murphy's. The dark, rich stouts have only 3 Weight Watchers POINTS per 12 oz. bottle. Drink slowly and savor the flavor!

2. Drink your greens. There are so many ways to "tipple the green" besides having an Irish beer. One way to drink your greens is to try Naked Juice's Green Machine juice. (Don't have Naked Juice in your area? Try Ocala Superfood Micronutrient Fruit Juice Drink instead.)

Green Machine has several "superfood" ingredients including spirulina, chlorella, blue green algae, spinach, broccoli, and others. Sounds gross but its apple juice and pineapple juice base gives it a sweet flavor. One cup is 3 POINTS.

I love it and have a glass of it in the morning with my vitamins. Also, I think the superfood goodies have helped keep me healthy this winter, unlike the rest of my family who keep getting sick.

Green tea is another example. According to an article at MSNBC.com,

Green tea contains relatively high amounts of a type of phytochemical called EGCG, proven in laboratory studies to be a powerful antioxidant...studies show EGCG can increase production of enzymes that protect us from cancer-causing substances, decrease levels of a substance key to promoting cancer development, and increase cancer cell self-destruction.

5 things you should know about circuit training

My personal trainer introduced me to circuit training during our last session. Before, my usual routine was to ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes, then do an all over body workout with weight lifting machines or dumbbells.

My new routine is to do five minutes of cardio on the Cybex Arc Trainer (my new fave piece of gym equipment) or the stationary bike. Then I do two weight lifting exercises - two to three sets of 10 reps, first lower body then upper body exercises.  Repeat until all the weight lifting exercises are done.

Sounds interesting? Let me tell you more.

1.  What is circuit training? Circuit training is a workout routine that combines cardiovascular fitness and resistance training. It's comprised of short bursts of resistance exercise using moderate weights and frequent repetitions, followed quickly by another burst of exercise targeting different muscle group.

As you switch between muscle groups, your heart rate goes up. In my case, my personal trainer added aerobic exercise - Arc Trainer or stationary bike - between the sets of resistance exercises.

Click here for two examples of circuit training workouts.

So why should you circuit train?

5 reasons to blog your weight loss journey

This year my mission is to "blog-evangelize" or spread the word on why blogging is such a powerful tool. I mostly talk to writers on how to use blogging to promote their work. But why shouldn't blogging be used by those trying to lose weight and get healthy, too?

Here are 5 reasons to incorporate blogging into your weight loss journey:

1. Exploring your emotions. Tracking what you eat, how many times you work out, and your weight is one thing. Blogging about how you feel - your emotions - can help you discover the triggers that cause you to overeat. Blogging is also a way to help you figure out why you have the relationship you do with your body and food.

So why use a blog? It's just as easy to write in a notebook, right? This leads me to my next couple of points.

2. Convenience. If you're like me, you live your life online. You're constantly emailing people, Googling or shopping online. Maybe you use an online service to plan your family's meals, like Menu Planning Central. Or you could be doing your weight loss using dieting sites like Weight Watchers or SparkPeople. What ever the case, you're already online. Why not do your self-discovery there, too?

Now I can hear a few of you saying, "My online diet plan comes with a blog! I can journal there." That's great, but what happens when you leave the diet site because it's too expensive or not working out for you? All the self-exploration you blogged about is gone unless you print it out or transfer it. What a pain! Instead, blog at a FREE service like WordPress.com or an inexpensive service like TypePad where this blog is hosted.

5 Things to Consider When Picking a Diet Plan

If you've read through this blog, you've probably noticed that I quit doing the Extreme Fat Smash diet. It's a great plan but it stopped being practical for me once I could no longer exercise because of a knee injury. So I researched several online weight loss plans including:

• Weight Watchers Online
• The Biggest Loser Club (from Rodale, the same company that runs the Extreme Fat Smash diet website )
• Discovery Health's 2008 National Body Challenge
• eDiets.com

Most of these plans are the same - they determine how many calories you should eat per day and give you a fixed daily menu. The only difference was Weight Watchers, which gives you a POINTS goal for the day. You can eat what you want as long as you stay in that POINTS range and have so many fruits, veggies and milk servings per day.

So which diet was right for me? Here are the five things I considered when I looked at the online diet plans. Many of these will apply to other diets - on or offline - as well.

1. Cost - How much money are you willing to spend on a diet plan? At the time I wrote this post (January 2008) the costs are:

• Weight Watchers Online - This depends. As a former member I can sign up for three months at $55 ($18.33 per month). Otherwise, the cost is $65 for three months or $21.66 per month. Doing Weight Watchers online is cheaper than going to the meetings, which will run you $10-15 per week plus a sign up fee.
• The Biggest Loser Club - $19.95 per month though if you buy the three-month value plan you get billed in one installment of $59.94 and get the The Biggest Loser Book, The Biggest Loser Fitness Program, and The Biggest Loser Cookbook for free (a $62.85 value including free shipping)
• Discovery Health's 2008 National Body Challenge - FREE
• eDiets.com - $4.95 per week (about $20 per month)

There are other costs to consider when picking any weight loss plan:

• Does the diet require that you purchase their food product like NutriSystem or Jenny Craig? Does it use "real food" that you can get at your local grocery store?
• Do you have to buy foods you don't normally eat like protein powder, tofu, brown rice, or green tea? Are they expensive?
• Does the plan include exercising? If so, you'll need to figure in a gym membership, sports equipment, exercise clothes, sneakers, etc.
• Do you need to purchase any additional items like cookbooks, videos, books, scales, juicers, etc.?

With any diet, you'll need to have measuring cups and spoons and a food scale for your kitchen. You probably already have these if you like to cook. You'll also need to buy a good bathroom scale, preferably digital, and a measuring tape. For exercise, you can start off with a comfortable pair of walking shoes or sneakers. Gym memberships, fancy workout equipment, and designer sweats are optional - buy only what you can afford! (Check out my Five Ways to Save at the Gym post for more money saving tips.)