Just One Mom Trying: fitness

Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mickey's Mousercise!

Let me take you back to the 80's when Mickey's Mousercise was super awesome!

We listened to the songs on vinyl when I was in elementary school. We pushed all the desks out of the way on rainy days and exercised in our classroom with our teacher. If we were really lucky we'd watch it on VHS and follow along.

I wish they had this on DVD. It would be part of my library so fast! The good news is that there is a great little work out song available through iTunes. I've used it in my preschool co-op and the kids LOVE it! They love the medley of songs they all recognize, and it's easy to follow along-Mickey and Goofy tell you exactly what to do throughout the song.

For a 7-minute Mousercise workout with your own kids or preschool, download the "Mousercise Medley" on iTunes for $0.99

I guarantee your little ones will have fun. I know mine do!

Black Bean and Salad Pizza

Emily 6:09 AM 0 Comments

I've been trying to eat less meat and stay a little more fit. Every week I plan meals for my family. It has been tricky to find delicious dinners with little or no meat. But, they are out there.

My sister makes a great black bean pizza topped with green salad tossed in ranch dressing. I love it! I love ranch with my pizza and this combines salad, ranch and pizza.

Trader Joe's has already made pizza dough in their refrigerated section that is fantastic! Roll it out, place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet, and top it with a can of drained black beans. Sprinkle some cheese on top and bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

When the cheese is nicely melted and the crust is golden brown, take the pizza out of the oven. Top your pizza with salad and enjoy!

I hope you'll give it a try sometime.

# family dinners # fitness

Thursday, January 19, 2012

All-Bran Muffins: An Extra Delicious Version

Emily 8:45 AM 0 Comments

Back to breakfast! Here's another healthy idea for breakfast (or for a snack). I like bran muffins and I like to make them quickly. Kellogg's has a great recipe for bran muffins using their All-Bran Original cereal. It's pretty good. However, I'm not a fan of the oil in the original recipe and I'd like it to be a little bit tastier. So, I've modified it a little bit.

The following recipe is an adaptation of Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal muffin recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal

1 1/4 c. skim (fat free) milk

1 egg

1/4 c. UNSWEETENED applesauce

chocolate chips (This is where the extra tasty part comes in. It also makes the muffin a little more moist.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal and milk. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens.
Add egg and applesauce to the milk and cereal mixture.
Stir well. Add in flour mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips to liking.
Portion evenly into 12 muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray. (DO NOT USE CUPCAKE LINERS! The whole muffin will stick to the paper!)
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

It will look mushy when you mix everything together. It's supposed to look like that.

When they come out of the oven, they will look delicious!

What to do with the leftovers before you eat them all? Put them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. They will reheat nicely tomorrow morning. Wrap a frozen muffin in a damp paper towel and reheat it in the microwave. Now you have breakfast for a week or more!

# breakfast # fitness

Chinese Vegetable and Chicken Dish

Emily 7:45 AM 1 Comments

The past 2 days I've shared a breakfast and lunch loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Today I'm sharing a dinner loaded with fresh vegetables. It feels like the right thing to do.

If you like Chinese food, this meal will not disappoint. My 1-year old and 3-year old like this meal too. I love recipes that the whole family enjoys.

This recipe is a little long but it's pretty simple. You can also make most of this ahead of time and throw it together last minute for ultimate freshness.

Ok, let's do this!

Here is what you will need:

Chicken Marinade:

2 breasts of chicken

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. corn starch

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

3 drops sesame oil

Tabasco or hot sauce (optional)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1-2 Tbsp. oil

Vegetables of choice:

snow peas

mushrooms

carrots

broccoli

water chestnuts

red peppers

bok choy

bean sprouts

etc.

Vegetable Sauce: (double this if you have A LOT of veggies)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 cup water

1 tsp. chicken broth bouillon granules (or 1 mashed bouillon cube)

2 tsp. oyster sauce

Directions:

1) Prepare marinade in a small bowl.

2) Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to marinade. (This can be done ahead of time or last minute. The chicken does not need to marinade long. I like to have it marinade for a couple of hours just because I like the flavors to soak a little bit).

3) Cut up your veggies of choice into bite-sized pieces. I used mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, bok choy, red pepper, and water chestnuts this time. I like A LOT of veggies.

4) Prepare vegetable sauce in a small bowl. (I doubled the recipe because I had A LOT of veggies AND I like to have some extra sauce for my rice.)

It will look like this. Not everything will dissolve and that's okay. I used a mashed bouillon cube since I didn't have the granules on hand.

5) Heat 1-2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil and chopped clove of garlic in a skillet. Do not burn the garlic. Once heated, add the chicken and cook all the way through. Remove cooked chicken and set aside.

6) Pour all your vegetables into the hot skillet. Add about 3 tablespoons of water and cover with a lid to steam your veggies. Steam until tender.

7) Pour your prepared vegetable sauce over your veggies. Add chicken back into the pan. Cook until sauce is thickened.

8) Serve over rice and ENJOY!

**As a side note, Trader Joe's Orange Chicken makes a delicious side dish.

This post is part of The Shady Porch Rock 'N' Share. To see more fun projects from the blogosphere, visit The Shady Porch!

# family dinners # fitness

Vegetarian Pita Sandwich

Emily 6:56 AM 1 Comments

Yesterday I made a vegetarian pita sandwich for lunch. It was REALLY good! I wanted another but held myself back.

Try it!

For the bread I used Orowheat (or if you live on the east coast, Arnold) brand 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins. They're only 100 calories for 1 roll.

On one side of the roll I spread some mild roasted garlic hummus (from Trader Joe's) and on the other side of the roll I spread some tzatziki sauce (also from Trader Joe's) in place of mayo or mustard.

I loaded the sandwich inside with lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices. I sprinkled a little bit of low fat feta cheese to top it off.

Serve this sandwich with a whole carrot and some apple slices on the side! Enjoy your healthy lunch!

I know what I'm having for lunch again today!

# fitness # lunch

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Green Smoothie

Emily 11:33 AM 0 Comments

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get fit. Part of this resolution is eating more fruits and vegetables. I will be posting some of my favorite "healthy" meals.

For breakfast I have been enjoying my green smoothies: orange juice, banana, baby spinach, strawberries and a little nonfat yogurt.

Bonus points: my girls will drink it (happily)! AND, it looks so pretty in the blender!

# breakfast # fitness

Thursday, January 12, 2012

12 Healthy Tips to Suppress Your Craving and Eat Less

Emily 6:47 PM 1 Comments

The University of Scranton and the Journal of Clinical Psychology came out with the Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for 2012.

The #1 resolution for 2012 is LOSE WEIGHT. #5 is STAYING FIT AND HEALTHY

Along with these stats are percentages of Americans who are successful in achieving their resolution. Ready for the percentage? 8%. That's it. 8% of Americans who make New Year's Resolutions actually achieve their goals.

If you are one of these Americans who chose to "lose weight" or "stay fit and healthy," like me, it is important to not only exercise but to watch what you put into your body as well. Here are some tips that are easy to do to fight those cravings, eat less, and achieve your goal.

These tips come from my personal trainer.

12 HEALTHY tips to suppress cravings and eat less. (Notice I said HEALTHY.)

Drink a big glass of water. Wait 10 minutes. See if you are still hungry.
Chew a piece of gum.
Chew a piece of gum while you cook.
When you crave a sweet, go on a walk, or do a project.
Eat a piece of fruit. It’s better to have sugar from fruit rather than to eat refined sugars.
3-Bite Rule: Eat 3 bites of the sweet craving and then throw the rest away. (I prefer to drown it in water and turn the garbage disposal on. There is something psychological for me about putting it in water rather than just throwing it away. If I throw it away in the garbage, I can see it every time I throw something else away and I think "what a waste!" But, if I put it in water, it becomes "damaged goods" and once it is down the disposal it is out of sight, out of mind.
Brush your teeth after meals and snacks.
Don’t eat standing up.
Don’t eat kids’ leftovers. It's okay to put leftovers in a plastic bag or container for later. As for yourself, if you are satisfied, stop. Don't feel like you have to 'clear your plate.' This was hard for me since I was taught to finish everything on my plate. It's okay to save it for later.
Kitchen closes at 6:00 pm.
Clean up after you prepare a meal/snack, BEFORE you eat.
FOOD LOG! Log EVERYTHING you eat! (meals, snacks, water) Check out apps for food logs. Fooducate, MyFitnessPal, MyNetDiary, etc.