Change is not Bad

Change of plans are okay. My wonderful new daughter in law is up visiting us while Tim is doing several job interviews. She is allergic to seafood and this weekends meal plans had seafood two times. So I did  a little rearranging to accommodate her. Meal plans are just that, they are plans but life happens and sometimes new plans need to be made. Sometimes you can’t foresee a change of plans. That is okay too. A plan makes you prepare for the meal. I have the food in the house to make that meal, I have arranged my meals so they contain different foods and we try new ones. But a change is not bad as long as you maintain focus for the reason the plan was set in place. Don’t replace a healthy meal, that has to be altered, for a lousy, unhealthy, fat laden, calorie dense one. Make wise decisions.


10:30 AM Apple

1 PM Thai Ground beef

3 PM banana bites

6 PM 4 venison meatballs and spaghetti squash

8PM ½ scoop chocolate protein powder and ½ tablespoon peanut butter


Friday

5AM 1 scoop vanilla UMP with water at training

8 AM 2 eggs, old fashion oats, spinach

10:30 orange, slice of banana bread

1 PM 3 venison meatballs and spaghetti squash

4 PM almonds, cashews, walnuts ¼ cup total

6 :30 ham, mixed veggies

8::30 protein powder and 1 Tablespoon peanutbutter


Saturday

8:30 2 eggs, bran muffin, ½ banana, spinach

11:45 1 protabello mushroom pizza

3 PM almonds ¼ cup

6 PM 1 ½ beef fajitas with onions, gr and red peppers, cheese, mango salsa, 6 tortilla chips




Food Log Saturday April 25, 2009

The most important days to plan are the weekends. No matter if you are staying around the house or going away for the weekend, you must know what you are eating and when. Set yourself up for success!

8:00am:

  • 3 Eggs Easy Side Up
  • Whole wheat and blueberry cake

10:30am:

  • 2 scoops UMP
  • Multivitamin

12:00pm

  • Baked Ham
  • Garden salad w/ oil & vinegar

2:30pm

  • 2 scoops UMP

5:30pm

  • Crockpot Jambalaya
  • Garden salad w/ oil & vinegar

7:30pm

  • 1 scoop UMP w/ 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Food Log April 24, 2009

4:30am:

  • Water, Ultra 40 Protein, Mass Aminos

7:30am:

  • Omelette: 4 egg whites + 1 whole egg, 1/2 oz cheese, spinach
  • 1  cup rolled oatmeal w/ 1/2 cup blueberries/strawberries

10:00am

  • 2 scoops UMP (Ultimate Muscle Protein) in water
  • Super Pak Multivitamin

12:30pm

  • Meatballs
  • Spinach salad w/ oil&vinegar
  • Spaghetti Squash

2:30pm

  • 2 scoops UMP

4:30pm

  • Workout Drink

5:30pm

  • Super Shake

7:30pm

  • 1 scoop vanilla UMP with 1/4 cup lowfat plan yogurt

Fat Burning Pasta – Can It Be?

Now you know how I feel about foods that make health claims, so let me make this disclaimer: There is NOTHING you eat that is a miracle or can be eaten without consideration of total caloric intake NOR do I endorse all the marketing tactics of this product. You can’t eat these noodles with a pound of sausage on them and expect to lose weight! However this product IS a very good choice when your are avoiding a lot of pasta and grains.

Earlier this week in class we talked about choosing carbs, particular grain products, that have more than 3 grams of fiber and less than 10 grams of sugar. If there is any “magic” it is the ability of fiber to keep you feeling full, your blood sugar stabilized and insulin at bay. This is why cruciferous green vegetables should be eaten often.

Without further adieu, let me introduce you to the Shirataki Noodle. This Asian noodle is easy to prepare, has the fiber and nutrient profile we are looking for, and works great in a ton of recipes that call for noodles or pasta.

You can ignore the “miracle” hyperbole, but check out the video as highlighted on the news, as well as a page from Men’s Health:

Shirataki Noodle

Here’s a tasty and health recipe from Nancy so you can put your new found noodle (k)nowledge to good use! 🙂


Pasta with Mushroom Marinara Sauce

2 (8 oz.) packages of Shirataki Noodle or Shirataki Fettuccine Shape
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 1/2 cups (6 oz.) fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cups prepared marinara sauce
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Prepare noodles according to package directions below. Cut into 3 to 4-inch lengths. In non-stick skillet, toss noodles over medium-high heat until dry. Set aside. Heat oil in skillet, add garlic and mushrooms. Cook over high heat, stirrin continuously until mushrooms are golden. Add marinara sauce. Bring to a simmer, cook 3 minutes. Stir in noodles, cook 3 minutes. Garnish with basil. Serve with cheese (optional).

For more info on the shirataki noodle, visit http://www.miraclenoodle.com


Food Log April 23, 2009

4:30am:

  • Water, Ultra 40 Protein, Mass Aminos

7:30am:

  • Omelette: 4 egg whites + 1 whole egg, red peppers, mushrooms, green peppers
  • 1  cup steel cut oatmeal w/ 1/2 cup blueberries/strawberries

10:00am

  • 2 scoops UMP (Ultimate Muscle Protein) in water
  • Super Pak Multivitamin

12:30pm

  • Pot Roast
  • Spinach salad w/ oil&vinegar
  • Mock Mashed Potatoes

2:30pm

  • 2 scoops UMP

5:00pm

  • Roast Ham
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Spinach salad w/ oil&vinegar

7:30pm

  • 1 scoop vanilla UMP with 1/4 cup lowfat plan yogurt

Nancy’s Top 5 Grocery Shopping Tips

Shopping, in particular  grocery shopping is one chore I actually look forward to every other week. I enjoy taking my kids out for a few hours to choose the foods we will be eating. They actually like to go to. With three pre-schoolers in tow, here are a few helpful, healthful tips to keep in mind.

1. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where you will find the fruits, veggies, meats, seafood, and dairy sections. These are the healthiest choices while the inside of the store contains those items that are less perishable in boxes, cans, jars, and bags. Think of if this way, chose items that will perish in days or weeks instead of years.  It is scary to think of how long you can keep some items on your pantry shelf.

2. When choosing fruits and veggies, make a wide range of color selection. Think of eating all the colors in the rainbow. You can chose yellow summer squash, red tomatoes, purple cabbage, orange sweet peppers, blue berries, and green beans. Many grocery stores stock a wide range of fruits and veggies. Make it a habit to try one new variety each week.  Often stores have a recipe card section to encourage shoppers to try something they offer.

Grocery Produce

3. Meats are my next stop around the store. The USDA now requires meats to list their fat content on the packaging. This makes choosing lean meats easier. But check out the difference for yourself. Pick up a package of hamburger containing 75% lean meat and one containing 90% lean meat. Turn the package over and notice how many calories you will be saving by using the 90% instead of the 75% per serving. It is huge. Do the same thing with ground turkey and ground turkey breast. This will shock some of you. But ground turkey is white, dark, skin, and other parts of the turkey ground up while ground turkey breast is only the white lean breast part of the turkey. Do I have to tell you which one has the fewer fat calories?

4. The Seafood department is another one of those unexplored areas of the store for most people. Eating seafood provides you with some very beneficial vitamins and minerals as well as some fantastic fatty acids our body’s crave. Deep Cold water seafood like Salmon, Flounder, Herring, and Tuna.

“The biggest problem in this country is that we eat too little fish, not too much, and overall everyone would benefit from increasing their fish consumption,” says Joyce Nettleton, an expert on omega-3 fatty acids. “We don’t have anything in the marketplace that has the potential to benefit health the way fatty fish do.”

5. Now, this is not to say that I never buy food in the aisles. I do, but I try to keep with the healthiest choices if possible – whole grain items, frozen vegetables without sauces, canned tuna and salmon, etc. While we are on the subject of whole grain, be very careful of labels that read whole grain on the front. Always, always turn the package over to read the nutrition label. Only on the nutrition label will you see the truth. Choose items that are higher than 3 grams of fiber and less than 10 grams of sugar. Higher fiber and less sugar is the rule to keep in mind. There are better choices than others so don’t be fooled. Choosing the healthiest bread or cereal for your family will take some doing the first time out but after that you can avoid all the choices and just pick the ones you have already found to be high fiber and low sugar options.

There are so many options in a super market. It can be an overwhelming chore to make the healthiest choices for you and your family. Stick to these rules and you’ll be on your way to easier healthy eating.

Don’t make it a chore – Make It Fun!

Nancy

And Yet another day….. another busy day

Now, don’t think I am a total loser. I actually had this written up yesterday and as I was writing the last few words the power went out and I lost it all. So much for high tech if  you don’t use the automatic save option….. Today is another day and I retyped all the food logs and finally got them up. Sorry it took so long.

Saturday

8:30 3 eggs, sweet potatoe hash browns

11:30 banana bites

1:30 all day long pork loin chili

5 1 ½ portabello mushroom pizzas, 4 oz chicken strips, small spinach salad


Sunday

7:30 Chocolate Super Shake

11:30 2 eggs, French toast bites with turkey sausage, green peppers, red peppers

1:30 apple crisp

4:30 all day long pork loin chili

7:30 protein pudding


Monday

5AM 1 scoop vanilla UMP with water at training

7:30 2 eggs, toast, spinach

10:30 apple

1 chicken spinach, craisins, walnuts, oil and vinegar

4 mint chocolate chip shake

6:30 turkey, spinach salad with Italian dressing


Tuesday

5AM 1 scoop vanilla UMP with water at training

7:45 2 eggs, oatmeal strawberries, spinach

10:45 hummus, whole wheat tortilla, spinach

1 thai ground beef

4:45 7 oz beef roast, coconut cauliflower, spinach salad


Wednesday

8:30 AM 3 eggs, 1 ½ bran muffin, spinach

12 AM 4 oz roast with coconut cauliflower



Did you ever have one of those days that lasted several?

Sorry for getting this out so late. My weekend seemed to be filled right up and ran over onto Monday. I didn’t get this posted in time. Now I am playing catch up. Here’s our family’s food plan for this week.

Monday

W- 1 scoop UMP vanilla protein powder mixed with water for training

B- eggs, spinach, toast

s- apples

L- chicken peppers

S- Mint choc chip protein shake, kids- cheese

D- turkey , mandarin oranges for kids, spinach salad

s- crackers for kids, protein pudding


Tuesday

W- 1 scoop UMP vanilla protein powder mixed with water for training

B- oatmeal, strawberries, eggs, spinach

s- hummus, spinach, whole wheat tortilla

L- Thai ground beef

S- cottage cheese pineapple

D- Roast, mashed coconut cauliflower

S- protein pudding, animal crackers


Wednesday

B- eggs, bran muffin, carrot

S- apple crisp

L- roast, mixed veggies

S- banana bites

D- French onion soup, salad

S- shake for Nancy, crackers for kids


Thursday

W- 1 scoop UMP vanilla protein powder mixed with water for training

B-omelet, steel cut oats

S- strawberries, blueberries,

L- Thai ground beef

S- refried beans burrito

D- ham, spaghetti squash

S- protein pudding


Friday

W- 1 scoop UMP vanilla protein powder mixed with water for training

B- eggs, steel cut oats, blueberries, spinach

S- banana

L- chicken, spinach salad, craisins, walnuts

S-almonds, gr peppers

D- fish, beets, gr beans

S- protein pudding


Saturday

B- peaches and cream omelet

S- orange

L- leftovers

S- almonds, carrots sticks

D- Crock pot Jambalaya


Sunday

B- super shake

S- craver

L- eggs, blueberry pancakes, nuts, no syrup

S- hummus, veggies

D- venison burger, salad, tomatoes and cucumber slices

S- protein pudding





Food Plan April 21, 2009

4:30am:

  • Water, Ultra 40 Protein, Mass Aminos

7:30am:

  • Omelette: 4 egg whites + 1 whole egg, red peppers, mushrooms, green peppers
  • 1 1/2 cups oatmeal w/ 1 tsp honey
  • 1 Banana

10:00am

  • 2 scoops UMP (Ultimate Muscle Protein) in water
  • Super Pak Multivitamin

12:30pm

  • Pork Loin Chili
  • Spinach salad w/ oil&vinegar

2:30pm

  • 2 scoops UMP

5:00pm

  • Beef roast
  • Mashed Cauliflower
  • Spinach salad w/ oil&vinegar

7:30pm

  • 1 scoop vanilla UMP with 1/4 cup lowfat plan yogurt

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

Do you remember playing this game when you were a kid?

If so, you are oooooold…like me! 🙂

Actually all three of those categories are vital in a balanced diet, but I want to talk about vegetables in particular.

Cutting VegetablesWe all have heard time and time again that’s it important to eat your fruits and vegetables, but how many of us actually do it on a daily basis?


The National Cancer Institutes “5 to 9 a Day” program encouraged us to eat at least 2 to 4 servings of fruit and 3 to 5 servings of vegetables a day. (Since updated to a personalized program – check it out here: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/)

The goal is to eat:

  • Five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables
  • A variety of colorful fruits and vegetables
  • High fiber fruits and vegetables
  • At least one vitamin C rich fruit or vegetable
  • At least one vitamin A rich fruit or vegetable

What’s a serving size? Not all that much, really…

Vegetables:

  • 1 cup raw leafy greens
  • 1/2 cup fresh or cooked vegetables

Fruits:

  • 1 medium apple, orange or banana
  • 1/2 cup fresh, canned or cooked fruit
  • 1/4 cup dried fruit

The reason I bring the number of daily servings up is because we get asked a lot – Fresh, frozen, canned, organic – which should I eat?

To which are answer is “All of the above!”

You see it doesn’t really matter which of those choices you make if you aren’t eating enough.

For instance we get asked a lot about buying organic – it’s a hot topic right now, and it seems everything is organic. Even Prograde Cravers are organic!

Organic is great, but what matters more is that you are getting enough fruits and veggies first, then worry about super high quality.

I also understand that fruits and vegetables can be expensive, and there is nothing wrong with choosing economical options. Personally my preference would be fresh (organic or not), frozen, and then canned. With canned fruits you need to be cautious about added sugar, and canned veggies can have a lot of sodium. A cold water rinse before you cook them can help get rid of some of that excess salt without affecting the quality.

Tomato Plants

You know what may be even more important than organic? Buying your produce locally. A vegetable picked from the farm down the road is going to be tastier and healthier than organic produce shipped halfway across the globe.

Pretty soon Farmers Markets are going to start popping up here in NH, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) are also gaining in popularity. A CSA is where you buy a share of a local farm and get a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly delivery of the farms crops, depending on the agreement.

I mentioned Milk and Honey Farm a couple weeks ago, which is the CSA Nancy and I purchases a share in. We went to visit the farm last Saturday, and are excited to report the first pickup is only about a month away!

Seriously, would you rather have vegetables shipped from who knows where, handled about 20 times by 20 different people, sitting on the shelves for an undetermined amount of time OR fresh picked produce with all the nutrients intact from a local farmer at an affordable price? Hmmmm…..

There is still time to buy a share, so if you are interested click the link above.

Milk and Honey isn’t the only CSA around. I went to http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ and did a search for CSA’s in the Concord area, and it came up with 12 results, so you have options.

Look, I am not trying to tell you it is easy to integrate more vegetables and fruits into your eating plan, if it was easy we would all do it all the time! What I am saying is it is worth the effort.  The health and disease prevention benefits are well documented and reliable.

So do what mom said – “Eat Your Vegetables” – she knew what she was talking about!

Make It Happen!

Dean