Ingredients
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon grated fresh lime peel
2 cups diced peeled cantaloupe
2 cups diced peeled honeydew melon
1 cup seedless red or green grapes
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups diced peeled cored fresh pineapple
1 cup raspberries or blackberries
1 1/2 cups halved hulled strawberries
Directions
Whisk together yogurt, lime juice and honey in small bowl to blend; set dressing aside. Wash and clean fruits. Add fruit to a large bowl. Cover dressing and fruit separately and chill until ready to serve, up to 6 hours. Mix dressing into fruit. Let stand 15 minutes to blend flavors. Note: You can easily interchange different fruits – this dressing will also taste great with nectarines, peaches, etc.
Posted in Videos on May 9, 2012
Video: A trainer demonstrates how to do a tricep stretch.
Ingredients
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
12 oz asparagus, trimmed
1 roasted red bell pepper
1 1/2 cup lightly packed arugula, chopped
1 cup mixed baby greens
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk first 4 ingredients to make the dressing. Gradually add oil while stirring fast.
Heat barbecue or pan to medium high.
Brush onion, zucchini, yellow squash, and asparagus with 1/2 of the balsamic dressing. Grill or saute vegetables until just cooked through, turning occasionally.
Allow veggies cool slightly, then cut into small pieces and place in large bowl.
Add roasted bell pepper, arugula, and greens; toss with enough dressing to coat.
(Makes 4 Servings)
Posted in Videos on May 7, 2012
Video: This exercise targets the hamstring, glute and calf muscles.
Posted in Videos on May 5, 2012
Video: Doing a crunch on a ball is a very effective core exercise as it uses your core to balance on the ball, as well as to actually do the crunch.
Posted in Videos on May 4, 2012
Video: A good stretch for your upper back.
How do you find the best lose weight recipes? Where do you turn to find good food to prepare on a diet? And, what ingredients should you look for – and avoid – when choosing a meal. This article will look at weight loss recipes.
First of all, let’s look at sources for lose weight recipes. The internet is full of recipes. WebMd, Epicurious, iVillage, and even BeliefNet all have low calorie recipes on them. You can also find recipes for just about any specific dish by typing “dish low calorie” into a search engine like Google.
You also have traditional sources such as low calorie cookbooks to find lose weight recipes. You can find lose weight recipes tied to specific diets such as Adkins or Mediterranean in these books.
Cooking shows on television often feature low calorie recipes. Food network provides details of their low calorie recipes online.
Another thing you can do is use a recipe you love, but swap out some of the ingredients for things that don’t change the texture or taste of the food but lower the calories. For instance, with pancakes, cut the oil and butter, switch to whole-wheat flour, use raspberry sauce instead of syrup, then add more fresh fruit on top. For pasta with red sauce, puree cauliflower and broccoli to mix into the sauce, and add whole vegetables as well to make it more filling and healthier.
But, it’s not enough to know how to make an individual recipe low calorie, you need to have a good idea of what ingredients make a dish off limits. That way, you can plan substitutes.
For instance, whole wheat bread (not reduced calorie) has 70 calories but a low fat bagel has 150. So, eating a “diet” brand isn’t necessarily a cure-all for dieting.
You should also start incorporating the so called “superfoods” into as many lose weight recipes as you can. The superfoods are: blueberries, black beans, spinach, yogurt, tomatoes, carrots, oats, and walnuts.
When a recipe for a baked product such as cake requires oil, substitute apple sauce. It will have no impact on the baking process or the taste, but save a whopping 15/16 of the calories! (1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories. 1 tablespoon of apple sauce is 6.5 calories).
Other recipe substitutes include:
- Turkey bacon for bacon
- Cooking spray for butter
- Rolled oats for bread crumbs
- Ground turkey breast for ground beef
- Wine or fruit juice for oil based marinades
If you are looking for lose weight recipes, the good news is that you are not alone. There is a wealth of information out there for people wanting to cook healthy at home.
Posted in Videos on May 2, 2012
Video: This exercise not only works out your chest and arms, but you?ll also feel it in your glutes, quads and abs.
When it comes to losing weight you must consider every aspect of your body. Just working the lower body is not enough to be able to get you the body you are looking for. A great workout for the upper body is the one arm dumbbell. When you work just one arm at a time, you will find that you get a better work out because you are using more energy to focus on the muscles you are using. The muscles that you use when you do this are the lats (back muscles), the upper arm muscles and even your abs. The great thing is that all you really need is one dumbbell of your weight choosing or you can use two which can make it easier.
How to perform one arm dumbbell rows
1. You will want to get into a seated position to make this more like an actual row.
2. Start by leaning forward with your arm extended and the dumbbell in your hand
3. As you pull your arm back, you will also lean back until you are in a straight seated position with your torso at a 90 degree angle to your legs. It is easiest to think about rowing a boat while you are performing this exercise.
4. Keeping your arm straight, you will extend them back out and lean forward again to prepare for the next repetition of this exercise
Tips for getting the best result from one arm dumbbell rows
To get an extra little work on your muscles when you do this exercise, you can twist your wrist at the end when you are fully seated
Another way to get an extra burn and keep yourself on your toes is to alternate arms. It helps to have a dumbbell in both hands in order to keep you from not breaking your rhythm
You will want to make sure that you keep your abdomen held in as you do this exercise and be conscious of your posture throughout the exercise
Just as important as your exercise is to make sure that you breathe properly as you exercise. The best way to do this is to inhale as you pull back as there is more room for your lungs to expand. Then exhale as you lean forward again as this will help to get the air out of your lungs
Make sure that you do not rush through your movements.
If you are trying to get toned, it is a good idea to use low weight dumbbells and high repetitions.
If you are trying to build muscle, you will want to use heavier weights even though you will not be able to do high reps.
You will want to do 3-4 sets of these exercises to get the best results. This can be done either back to back, which is extremely hard, or if you are working on your upper body, you can just do the next set after you have completed the other exercises you are doing in your workout .
Organic foods are those that are classified as foods which are grown without the use of any type of chemical interference. That is no pesticides are used while the product is growing and no preservatives are added during the manufacturing process.
The organic farming movement actually dates back to the 1940?s to something known as the Green Revolution. This revolution helped to ease the numbers of people suffering from starvation and introduced new cereals and grains to many nations.
As well as spreading foods the Green Revolution spread technology around the world. Organic farming is now replacing some of the principles used during this revolutionary period. Less or no pesticides are being used to grow the same foods and this has resulted in a higher quality of product being produced.
In countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia organic foods are defined as foods that contain at least 95of their listed ingredients as natural. They must be free from chemicals and synthetic food additives. They may contain pesticides as long as they are also not synthetic.
At one time organic foods could only be purchased from local farmers. Today more organic food is showing up in your local grocery store. In addition many natural food stores are being opened that focus on natural and organic foods. This wider availability makes it much easier to purchase organic foods than ever before.
Benefits of Organic Farming
The largest benefit of organic farming is the reduction of synthetic pesticides and chemicals being released into the soil. This one practice alone has a huge environmental impact.
Organic farming also helps to protect the wildlife, insects and plants in their local areas. Plus organic farmers are actually better equipped to help sustain the ecosystem. They understand their environment and take steps to keep it healthy.
Organic farms have been shown to use less energy in their farming techniques and to produce less waste. This includes things like less packaging and creating waste from using chemical products.
Consumer Safety
The benefits to the consumer are huge in regards to organic foods. The fresh produce is normally shipped locally and arrives in stores quickly. There is less chance of diseases being passed through the foods which makes for everything being healthier to eat straight from the store!
Yes, organic foods do cost a little more but the prices are also dropping. If you look in your produce department you may find that a bag of organic carrots is only 25 ? 50 cents more than regular carrots. That small amount is worth paying to protect your families health isn?t it?
