Stupid Health Advice--Straight from the Guru's Mouth

Maybe it's just me, but aren't the health and fitness "gurus" starting to sound more and more like idiots?  Here are the top statements that I've seen or heard lately from the so-called lifestyle experts that get their own TV shows and endorsement deals.  It's sad--truly.

1.  To lose weight:  "Avoid foods with a high glycemic index.  Eat vegetables and lean meats, but avoid potatoes and carrots which have a high glycemic index."
When was the last time you over-indulged on carrot sticks?  I'm pretty sure it's the crispy cream donuts and super-size cokes that are the problem.  Teach me how to stay away from the drive-up sugar-cookie window and maybe I'd be able to get my pants snapped!

2.  To lose belly-fat:  "Belly fat is caused by hormones that are released when you're stressed.  To cut the belly fat, you need to meditate and reduce stresses in your life."  See my answer above.  Also, I'm generally pulling up to the sugar-cookie drive-in with screaming kids in my car who haven't been fed and are late for football practice.  Guess I'll be "mediating" in the parking lot with the rest of the moms.

3.  Don't have time to exercise?  "Scorch calories in four minutes with the new Tabata workout."  How stupid do I look?  Okay, that's a dumb question.  The ab-lounge was a best-seller too--but...I wouldn't plan on it getting you in shape for that next 5K either.

Share your favorite nuggets of advice that aren't worth the paper they're printed on.  At least then we can stop pretending that getting a body like Kate Hudson is achievable.  She finally confessed that getting her body back after the baby required 6-hour a day workouts.  Unless you're willing to quit your job in the pursuit of perfection, I guess I'll see you at the cookie drive-up window.

Meal Planning Tips

A meal plan is like a life vest in the middle of the storm.  You hate it, and it doesn't look good on you, but you really can't live without it--no matter how many swimming lessons you've had in the past.

We all muddle through weeks without a meal plan, turning tacos into taco-salad when we realize we are out of tortillas and watching perfectly good veggies rot in a drawer because we don't have the right things for stir-fry.  But eventually we realize that we don't have a chef on staff and it's time to sit down and actually think about meal time.  I know, I hate it too.

But I have gleaned a few tips you might find helpful as you make a plan.  First, I never sit down until I've poked my head into the fridge and have figured out what needs to be used up in the next couple of days.  The average American family throws away $2,000 worth of unused food every year.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather make a plan to use up the eggplant and put the money saved into my someday-I'll-actually-get-to-Hawaii fund.  Then I make a meal plan around those foods.

Variety is the spice of life, but it's a pain in the rear when you walk in the door at 6:00 every night and have to psych yourself up to get your cooking groove on and tackle a new recipe.  So make a basic plan such as:  Monday is Italian, Tuesday is Mexican, Wednesday is Oriental, Thursday is American, etc.  Fill it in with your family favorites in each category.  If you have more than one favorite for each category, then rotate them based on what you already have so that your shopping list isn't ginormous.  If you want to try a new eggplant Parmesan recipe, then schedule it on Italian night when you normally cook spaghetti.  And don't over-schedule.  If you know you will eat out at least once a week, then plan for it.

Yes, you have to schedule one leftover night (remember the Hawaii fund).  If your family hates leftovers, then turn the leftovers into a soup night.  Soups are versatile and can make use of almost any leftover unless you make lots of casseroles--then it's impossible to camouflage it as anything but leftovers.  I like to make cookies or a great dessert on leftover night so my family has incentive to eat the recycled stuff.

I like extra touches that make your meals feel a little special, but I always seem to plan the main dish and then I completely space-out buying the side items that really make it a meal.  So I made a list, using my categories, of side items that I like to have around.  Check out my example below. 

Mexican Night:  Saffron rice, Sangria, sliced avocado.
Italian Night:  Garlic bread, salad, sparkling cider
Oriental Night: Miso soup with tofu, egg rolls, fresh ginger
Grilling Night: French fries, asparagus

You'll notice that my Mexican side items will go with tacos, fajitas, nachos, tamales, or enchiladas.  I can switch my main dish around without having to change the sides.   Then I add those to my shopping list with the main dish ingredients and I'm ready to hit the grocery store.    

Choosing Your Tracy Anderson Workout

I'm almost finished with my Tracy Anderson Method workouts.  I've reached level nine and have eight workouts remaining.  I haven't seen a lot of change during the program, but I was in good shape when I began the workouts and had already lost quite a bit of weight so I was very pleased that Tracy's method kept me in shape and in my skinny jeans.  For the record, I didn't follow her six workouts with one day off schedule and I didn't follow the diet plan.  I had lost a significant amount of weight through exercise alone, but I've reached a weight set-point.  You will reach a point, like I have, when the only way to lose more weight is to go on a strict diet.  I can't decide if I'm ready to weigh nuts, or go naked on my salads.  If I decide to jump into the deep end of the diet pool, I'll let you know.

But, what I really wanted to talk about is how to decide which program you should purchase if you decide to try the Tracy Anderson Method.  She offers programs to target your hips, abs or butt and she offers an overall workout.  Her website has a questionnaire designed to help you chose the right program for you.  But, here's the real deal as I see it.  You should pick one of the targeted programs if you are already at your target weight and you really want to whittle down a specific body part or if you look in the mirror and it's ridiculously obvious that your hips (or abs, or butt) are completely out of proportion with the rest of your body.  I say this because most of us don't really know what our problem area is because, thanks to years of eating kid foods and driving the family taxi, all areas are a problem.

I'm like every woman on the planet.  I gain weight everywhere.  When I lose weight, I lose it everywhere.  I'm definitely pear-shaped, but that doesn't mean that my arms don't need to shed some inches.  I picked the hipcentric workout but I'd recommend the omnicentric workout for almost everyone.  Tracy's tough and you will get all-over results no matter what you pick, but her targeted programs can get really boring.  She works your entire body and then she concentrates on your "problem areas" which is code for making you do hundreds of repetitions targeting the problem spot.  In other words, I do so many leg lifts that I've been known to recite the Declaration of Independence in my head while pulsing a single leg in the air.  It burns and it's boring.  Pick a good playlist because you will need it.  Otherwise, get the omincentric workout and, once you shrink down to the size of Tinkerbell, then you can do extra leg-lifts or sit-ups.    

Summer Harvest: Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables

Summer vacation is coming to an end and I have really enjoyed my time away.  Thankfully, just because school is starting, that doesn't mean that the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer are ending too.  There's so much sweet ripe fruit left in summer that it makes me giddy.  The stores are blooming with vegetables that I rarely see in this small neck of the wilderness (can't say woods because I live in the desert.)  I've found parsnips and turnips, huge bundles of bok choy, and purple peppers, not to mention the corn that is just waiting to be grilled under the summer sky.

I hope you're as enchanted by the summer harvest as I am.  I brought home my basket of goodies this morning and started chopping away.  My goal is to keep my kids excited about eating vegetables.  I've tried the Jessica Seinfeld "Deceptively Delicious" approach where you puree vegetables then hide them in their favorite foods. I've also drizzled them with all manner of sauces, but nothing works as well as cutting them in to interesting shapes.  My kids are no longer enchanted by dinosaur shapes, but they do love things that are extra big.  Try cutting your veggies on the bias.  It gives you cucumber discs that are either oval shaped or huge discs, both just beg to be dipped in dressing.  It's also a great way to make a veggie tower.  Just stack large slices of cucumber and tomatoes in the middle of a plate and drizzle with dressing (Italian or Ranch work best). 

Ready-to-eat baby carrots seem to just shrivel away in the bottom of my crisper.  It's cheaper and much more fun to peel organic carrots and cut them into long strips.  These carrot straws are a huge hit with my kids when they're rummaging for snacks.  But the bottom line is that kids like their veggies fresh and ready to eat. If you have room, stack yogurt and nestle string cheese next to your veggies in the crisper.  This turns your crisper into the snack drawer without involving Cheez-Its.  Steer them toward the good stuff and they'll dive in. You don't have to resort to magic tricks.

Celetini with Summer Squash and Ricotta

You may have been eyeing the pasta sitting next to my Wild Rice Salad in my last post.  Yep, it was delicious too.  It's Mario Batali's recipe so of course it was amazing!  I give him all the credit on this one, but have one minor suggestion; put in lots more squash and zucchini because it's super yummy.

PENNETTE WITH SUMMER SQUASH AND RICOTTA

1 cup fresh ricotta

6 tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano, plus extra for serving

1 pound (I'd do more!) summer squash or zucchin (or both!), cut lengthwise in hald and sliced into quarter moons

1 lbs pennette rigate (Walmart doesn't carry this so I used celetini)

6 tbs chopped mint

salt & pepper

1.  Bring six quarts salted water to boil.

2.  Meanwhile, whisk the ricotta and 3 tbs olive oil together in a bowl.  Add the parmigiano, whisking until it's evenly incorporated.  Whisk in 2 tbs. warm water, then whisk in another tbs. water if necessary to loosen the consistency.

3.  Heat the remaining 3 tbs. olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the squash and cook, stirring until tender.  Season well with salt and remove from heat.

4.  Drop the pasta into the water and boil until al dente.  Drain and reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water.

5.  Add the pasta and reserved water to the squash, stirring and tossing over medium heat to mix well.  Cover, reduce heat to low and allow to steam together for 2 minutes.

6.  Stir in the mint, season with salt and pepper, if necessary and transfer to a serving bowl.  Garnish with dollops of whipped ricotta and serve immediately with grated parmigiano on the side.

This is just me, but I think this dish would be lovely with toasted pine nuts or a seasoned bread crumb topping dotted with butter and broiled to golden.

Wild Rice Salad with Sweet Lime Dressing

I'm back in my kitchen experimenting away in an effort to add vegan and vegetarian foods to my diet.  For this recipe, I had to use my husband and friend as test tasters since my children wouldn't recognize a salad unless it contained only leafy vegetables and was drowning in ranch dressing.  Asking them to spoon up a pinkish salad with rice sent them scurrying for the boxes of cereal.  If you ask me, it's their loss.  I found this recipe incredibly satisfying and my test tasters agreed.  It has the perfect blend of sweet, tart and nuttiness that makes my taste buds sing.

Thanks to vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz for the bones of this dish.  I love her adventuresome spirit but I'm not quite ready to marry the sweet, tarte, nuttiness of this salad with hot chili sauce the way Ms. Moskowitz prefers.  I like my lips when they're not constantly burning.  If that's your style, then dive into her original recipe found in her "Appetite for Reduction" cookbook.

WILD RICE SALAD WITH SWEET LIME DRESSING

1 navel orange, sliced in 1/2 inch segments

2 tbs. toasted sesame seeds (yep, toss them in a heated pan and stir them around for a couple minutes)

2 cups cooled long grain and wild rice

1 handful craisins

6 cups lettuce mix

1 lb tinfoil beets chopped

SWEET LIME DRESSING

1/4 c. lime juice

2 tbs. red wine vinegar

2 tbs. salad oil

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tsp. agave nectar (honey or sugar works in a pinch)

Toss everything together except the oranges and sesame seeds.  Drizzle on the dressing and toss with tongs (preferably in beat with your favorite song playing on your ipod).  Add the oranges and sesame seeds and toss one last time.



Lick Your Bowl Clean Summer Pasta

This recipe was a total experiment and a total hit.  My family gobbled it up faster than I've ever seen them eat anything.  They were asking for bread to sop up the remaining sauce.  It's flavorful and just a tad spicy.  Please give me feedback on this dish.  We think it's "lick your bowl clean" good.

RECIPE: LICK YOUR BOWL CLEAN SUMMER PASTA

Ingredients: 

• Diced summer vegetables:  such as squash, mushrooms, and broccoli.  Lots if you want lots of vegies with your noodles, less if you prefer more noodles than vegies.
•  Diced red pepper and red onion: about two tablespoons each.
• 2 tsp minced garlic (out of the jar is fine)
• 1 pkg. bite sized pasta such as mini-piccolini.
• 1 cup. vegetable broth
• 1 cup white wine.
• Red pepper flakes (to taste)
• Optional: Grated Parmesan cheese and a diced tomato

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss diced summer vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place on a cookie sheet and roast for approx. 20 minutes, flipping the vegies midway.

Meanwhile, start the pasta water and cook according to the package directions.

In a large pan, sautee the red pepper and onion in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic and sautee until fragrant.  Stir in the broth and white wine and bring to a boil.  Add the drained pasta and the roasted vegetables and toss.  Heat through.  Top with grated parmesan cheese and diced tomato (for vegetarians) or seasoned bread crumbs (for vegans.)