Left over quinoa and bananas

Have you ever made quinoa and it tripled in portions? Stuck with my leftover quinoa, I got creative. Take small portabella mushrooms, a red onion, a yellow pepper and add chopped to quinoa. You can toss this cold over arugula, spinach or kale for a quick and filling lunch.

My fav was tonight I took Boston lettuce leaves, refried vegetarian beans, the quinoa mix and topped with Giant brand mango salsa (super low calorie...great with cucumbers). The pic below made 3 wraps which was under 300 calories, 2 carbohydrate exchanges and 1 1/2 oz of lean protein. Pics of food found at http://www.pinterest.com/dtownnutrition/ 

We needed something creamy, cold and sweet so we added 1 frozen banana, 1/3 sheet whole grain graham cracker and blended until creamy, topped with 1 tsp dark chocolate syrup (140 calories of basically fruit!). I challenge you to add peanut butter and try other fruits with this fab dessert! Pioics of food at http://www.pinterest.com/dtownnutrition/.http://www.pinterest.com/dtownnutrition/

Cheers!

The Dieting Dietitian 

The marriage of exercise and diet

I am often asked by patients, "which is more important to focus on exercise or what I eat?".  My answer every time is "the marriage of exercise and diet".   You can exercise every day, getting your heart rate in the target zone for about an hour, complete strength training such as planks and lifting. But, you can still have excess weight and fat around your waist if you eat a diet high in calories coming from refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. Why?  All you are doing is burning off excess calories and possibly spiking your blood sugar.

A diet balanced with about 50% carbohydrates is important for fuel to support your daily activities and exercise plan.  The carbohydrates should be from whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice and oats, fruits, low-fat dairy, and vegetables (including starchy vegetables such as beans, peas, corn, potatoes, and cassava). Only about 20% of your calories should be from lean protein sources, including low-fat dairy, nuts, beans, fish, chicken and meat alternatives like tofu. Last, 25-30% of calories should come from healthy fats, such as salmon and tuna, nuts, seeds, plant-based oils, and avocado.

When exercise and a nutritionally-balanced diet is married, positive results are seen as early as 1-2 weeks! Of course, the summer brings many unhealthy foods including fruity high sugar alcohol beverages (hello margarita and mojitos), fat laden macaroni/potato salads, processed meats in hot dogs, and boardwalk treats. Life is meant to be enjoyed and to be "tasted".

 Follow the rule of eating 95% healthy majority of your day and you will be fine.  You should not feel guilty about having a boardwalk treat, that is what our summers are all about in the Northeast!  Remember to also enjoy our other summer treats, such as riding a bike on the boards, walking in the sand for miles, swimming, gardening, hiking,  etc. (there are so many great summer activities!).

As always, we are here to help you marry exercise and diet!

Cheers,

The Dieting Dietitian

Jen

Sometimes you just have to breathe

Happy Spring! 

For us Northeasters it has been the winter that killed healthy eating and exercise routines everywhere!  If you didn't meet you health goals, MOVE ON! Sometimes you just have to breathe, accept the past and grow with the future.  This  past year has brought on difficult challenges (fractured back, cancer, and a new home-of which I am recovered and healthy now!).  While I had times where eating healthy didn't matter (hello Twix, Twizzlers and pretzel bags), I learned that keeping an exercise routine kept me sane (even if it was the physical therapy stretches three times a day). Over time, I found I became stronger and can do more physical activity.  It was like starting from scratch in terms of exercise, but I kept with it, tracked my progress and reminded myself to breathe. Even when I felt like my body failed me, I used daily reminders to stay focused.  My favorite was keeping a dry erase marker on bedroom mirror and keeping motivational quotes or even simple ones (you are beautiful, smile, small steps lead to giant leaps, etc).  It was  great way to remind myself weight is just a number and I can count successes in other ways (I ran 3 miles in fabulous time)!

I'm loving the great weather this past few weeks and find it a great opportunity to walk outside.  Don't have a buddy to walk with?  Join us on Thursdays from 7-8 p.m. we have started "Walk and Talk" . A fun and inexpensive program that will keep you accountable to your health goals and keep you moving!  Call us to register!

I'm still trying to get back to my target weight, but have learned that I'm stronger than that number.  I can do a plank for over 3 minutes....never could do that before!  STRENGTH = HEALTH

Cheers,

The Dieting Dietitian