Being Healthier » bhealthy

Upgrades

bhealthy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:06:27 +0000

A few months back, I started using the android phone app ” PixelPost ” to post on Being Healthier. It usually uploads the photos at warp speed but not any writing for the post. The photo quality could use improvement but that is the camera’s fault of course …

( There is a little crab with a gigantic, white claw… He is supposed to have two of those nasty things)

My personal laptop died of a virus but I have yet to bury it because my amazing photos from all kinds of interesting things are somewhere locked inside. It also had great blogging software, where several pullitzer prize worthy unpublished drafts lie dormant. I”m hoping to retrieve said photos and drafts at some point but until then, I am stuck using the wordpress interface to write a post OR my phone app, which is not working at the moment because it needs an “upgrade”.

Couldn’t everything in life use an “upgrade” ? I mean really, if your house needs an upgrade just click “install”. Within seconds, you have all the upgrades you could ever want …until more become available in the near future.

Upgrade my car..

Upgrade my house…

Keeping this whole “upgrade” idea in mind when it comes to my eating habits, I almost always “give in” to whatever I am craving. Fruits and veggies are a staple for my diet, as is exercise so it didn’t seem like a big deal.

(My Acai juice matches my salad colors)

(Summer Salad… a creation for cookbook development and testing at work!)

Just because I exercise and eat veggies doesn’t mean I should consume whatever I feel like though ( yes, that was a note-to-self I felt like sharing). Taking notice of how my very pregnant friend has upgraded her diet to create the best possible human being she can, I think I should take some of her habits into consideration and upgrade my own diet despite not yet in the human creation stage!

What kind of upgrade would you choose for your life right now?

My thoughts on upgrading are as follows: What we put in our bodies is so important and should be the best it can be in order to make us the best we can be.

Along the same lines, I am going in for food allergy testing August 4th ! I can’t wait to figure out what is going on, what I can eat, and what I need to avoid for real!

Anabel’s Empanadas

bhealthy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:07:09 +0000

Empanadas are a stuffed pastry, which come from Spain, Portugal, and/or Argentina. I was amazed to fairly recently learn that every culture has its own version of a “dumpling”. In Spain, the common name is “empanadilla”… Portugal is “the emapada”…Argentina is “empanada”. The fillings for empanadas vary depending on the region of origin and include a wide variety of ingredients like tomatoes, garlic and beef, or tuna, cod fish, pork loin, even sardines! I grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where a common version is the Pierogi, a potato filled pastry in the shape of a half moon/crescent. Now living in the South, its hard to come by someone who knows what a pierogi is!

Pierogi’s …

and.. Anabel’s Empanadas…

Similar to the pierogi, the empanada is made by folding a dough around its stuffing. The name comes from the verb, empanar, which means to wrap or coat in bread. This made empanadas a poartable meal, carried to South America by colonists. In Argentina, “repulgue” is a term that refers to making a specific pattern to the dough that indicates which filling is inside. Argentina fillings vary by province but include spices like cumin and paprika, meats like beef, chicken and ham, or fruits and veg like raisins, olives or spinach.

Okay, Why the history lesson on Empanadas? Well a friend of mine (Mark) at work asked if I had tried his wife’s (Anabel’s) empanadas when he recently brought in some for the staff to taste. Anabel and her friend that hail from Argentina have started a small business using their own family recipes passed down through generations. I had not been at work that day and (of course) was eager to try them to review from my blog!

Mark brought in two of each for me to try, Spinach& Cheese as well as Beef Empanadas :

As you can see, the spinach has its own shape to the dough and the beef has the more traditional crescent shape. Both were delicious! I hate to ask Anabel for the ingredients because there is so much history in her recipe! I know the spinach had a cheese similar to if not ricotta cheese, but it also had a great flavor probably from onions or seasonings.

The ground beef was fantastic- filled with perfectly seasoned beef, peppers and cheese just made them melt in mouth! Anabel imports the dough wrappers from Argentina, which make these empanadas even more irresistable! I like that Mark and Anabel were able to give me directions for baking them and also let me know that the dough is not best for frying. Fried empanadas are more for festivals and celebrations. They should be made using a different dough that can withstand the high heat and oil!

I also enjoyed that they can be kept frozen and just popped into the oven for a quick 15 min + meal. It is because of this, I have already ordered a dozen of each to share with my friend this week! She is 4 weeks away (or so) from having her first baby girl and this is just going to be a great dish to have on hand for her in the upcoming weeks! I will definitely share that review next week!

Anabel is now making Ham & Cheese, Beef and Spinach. You can order them by the dozen (yes you can split 6 & 6) for $18/dozen. If you would like to order or want more information, email Mark at mross616@gmail.com !

Take a Break

bhealthy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:58:01 +0000

Isn’t that so true, sometimes you just need a break! I’ve been busy living my “real” life but I realized that blogging has been such a part of my “real” life that it felt like I wasn’t being true to myself! I have enjoyed not being tied to the internet or my camera, not having to think about every meal or every bite or every event that happens. Ultimately though, I felt like I was missing out on something I really enjoyed!

Being Healthier is about small steps that add up to the big picture. I don’t have it all figured out and I’m certainly not the best blogger by far. I do hope I still have a readership after my sporadic posting recently!

All it takes is one step to get going in the right direction. My one step today was exercising for my lunch break. I knew I needed the exercise and the time to do something for myself, even if all I could manage was 20-30 minutes. Every little bit counts!

What one step did you take today to be healthier?

EFNEP Training: Week 2

bhealthy — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:03:06 +0000

I definitely feel like I escaped technology for 3 weeks straight! We have finished the second and third weeks of training, which covered vitamins, minerals, more quick/easy/cheap recipes, knife skills and food preparation techniques! I’ll start out with the Easy Lasagna Recipe:

Again, this is a “hamburger helper” type of meal that is healthier! The directions are as follow:

Brown lean ground beef ( 96%) and drain excess grease. Add in whole wheat pasta noodles and chunky vegetable pasta sauce, simmering for 15 minutes to cook noodles. Add in nonfat cottage cheese and 1 cup lowfat shredded mozzarella and let cook until cheese melts.

Here is my plate with a big salad full of fresh greenery!

As you can see, there are fresh ingredients with minimal trans fat, sodium, saturated fats, etc. It involved ingredients that were processed, but minimally (Canned pasta sauce, whole wheat noodles, cheese).

This week I did a Knife Skills Demonstration and my co-facilitator was gracious enough to photograph me!
I am preparing now for a video that will be added to training on Knife Skills, but during this week we wanted to show the trainees’ how to dice an onion and how to cut a potato into even size “Fries”.

I demonstrated the way I learned how to cut an onion and then helped a trainee to further chop the onion into smaller pieces by running your knife through quickly.

Me demonstrating:

And up close, I am guiding the trainees through cutting panels of potatoes for french fries…

We prepared so many recipes this week from the EFNEP cookbook. Almost all of them were a hit with our trainees…

A veggie pasta salad:

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas:

Spicy Mini Meatloaves:

Easy Fruit Salad:

MyPyramid Sampler:

This is to showcase the food groups of MyPyramid: Fruits, Veggies, and Milk Groups were used… we also had some chopped nuts too

Fiesta Salad:

My favorite was the Easy Fruit Salad and I actually was surprised by the Fiesta Salad. I have tried Black Eyed Peas only a few times and never enjoyed them. The dressing for this salad was a little sweeter and contrasted the bell pepper/onion very well!

How is everyone doing?!

I miss my bloggers/readers and need to catch up with all of you! Can’t wait to do that this week since I have my internet back and a pretty normal routine once again!

EFNEP Training: Week 1

bhealthy — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:00:19 +0000

You might be wondering where I have been! Well I thought I would show you..

I have been training new staff at the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program! Our training room has no internet… thus… I have been working full time without the internet, then heading into Bonefish to work with again.. no internet!

I have been preparing tons of recipes from the EFNEP cookbook and training new staff on how to be a nutrition educator in our State! My fellow trainer and I went grocery shopping for the training and purchased snacks as well:

The first day of training included The Role of A Nutrition Educator, Fix It Fast Lesson on preparing foods quickly and healthy, and lots of other training topics such as the Dietary Guidelines!

All of the core curriculum includes a food preparation, sometimes its just a sample and other times it can be prepared as a meal. Most of our lessons that we are modelling for the trainees were morphed into our “lunch” for the day. Our Fix it Fast Lesson included the Beefy Skillet Recipe and Colorful Coleslaw:

It is kind of a healthier take on Hamburger Helper.

One thing to keep in mind is the majority of Americans are eating unhealthy, or at least are not aware of how they can take steps to being healthier. EFNEP can help lead limited resource families towards taking these steps! So, while you may not enjoy the idea of Hamburger Helper, many many many other people are choosing a double whopper with large fries. Learning the basics is a step in the right direction!

Beefy Skillet Recipe:

Ingredients
• 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
• 1 envelope beef-flavored onion soup mix
• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup chopped onion

• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

• 1 (8-ounce) can corn, drained

• 3/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

• 1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain. Return meat to skillet.
2. Stir in the soup mix, water, onions, tomato sauce, corn, and macaroni.
3. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove cover and simmer until macaroni is tender; stir occasionally.

5. Top with cheese.

Makes 5 Servings of 1 cup each

Nutrition information Per 1 cup Serving:
240 calories

Total Fat 6 g (Saturated Fat 2 g)

Protein 24 g
Total Carbohydrate 26 g
Excellent Source of Vitamin C
Iron Good Source of Iron
Good Source of Vitamin A

Day 2 Training!

The second day of training focused on Food Safety. I trained the others on proper cooking temperatures, foodborne illness, proper handwashing techniques, and much more! I helped guide them in calibrating thermometers and we prepared Chicken Broccoli Quiche and the Hearty Vegetable Salad.

I thought I would really not like the hearty vegetable salad, but luckily, it was rather enjoyable! I didn’t remember ever liking Lima Beans as much as I did in this salad!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole Recipe:

Ingredients
• 1 9-inch ready made pie crust, baked
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup low-fat or skim milk
• 3/4 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3/4 cup cooked, chopped chicken
• 10-ounce frozen, chopped broccoli
• 1/4 cup carrots, shredded
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional)
• pepper to taste • 1/2–3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake pie crust according to package directions.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Place frozen chopped broccoli in microwave. Cook according to package directions. Pour off liquid. Let cool, squeeze broccoli to remove some more water.
4. Layer the meat, vegetables and cheese into baked pie crust. Pour the egg mixture over the ingredients.
5. Bake at 350° F for 30 to 40 minutes or until top is browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

(Makes 2 pies with 6 slices in each)

Nutrition information Per Serving
270 calories

Total Fat 16g

Sat. Fat 6

Protein 16 g
Total Carbohydrate 17 g
Excellent Source of Vitamins A
Excellent Source of Vitamin C
Excellent Source of Calcium

We also made the following recipe for a Hearty Vegetable Salad!

Ingredients
• 1 (15-ounce) can baby green lima beans, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 medium tomato, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped onion

• 1/3 cup Italian dressing, fat-free

• black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat lima beans and corn in microwave.
2. In large bowl, combine lima beans, corn, tomatoes and onions.
3. Pour Italian dressing over vegetable mixture and toss. Add black pepper to taste.
4. Serve immediately or chilled.

Makes 8 Servings of 1/2 cup each

Nutrition information Per Serving
140 calories

Total Fat 1 g

Saturated Fat 0g

Protein 6 g
Total Carbohydrate 28 g

Dietary Fiber 6 g

Sodium 410 mg

Good Source of Iron!

So that is what I have been up to and I have more to show you, like the My Pyramid Sampler, Muchos Nachos, Vegetables with Pasta, Fruit Smoothies, and much more! I am heading out of town this weekend but hopefully I will tune in and catch up with all of you!

What are your weekend plans?

Have any recipes you prepared ever surprise you?

Vacation Wrap Up

bhealthy — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:50:53 +0000

Body:
Saturday Afternoon: Tennis!
Sunday Morning: 18 Holes of Golf! ( 4 Hours and I wore my HRM just to see, I burned 936 kcal in 4 hours)
Sunday Afternoon: Pool and Swimming
Monday Morning: 17 mile Beach Run
Monday Afternoon: Pool and Hot tob!
Tuesday Morning: 18 Holes of Golf! ( 4 Hours)

Wednesday: REST! You know it was a fun vacation when you need to rest from it! I actually feel fantastic overall! I thought my body, especially my knee, would be sore from the run. I keep waiting to feel it, fall apart, or something. For that run, I had been training for several weeks with my longer runs at 8, 9 miles, then a few 10’s. I wore my brace and nothing swelled up or aches. I think the hot tub after and the pool really helped keep me limber!

What a confidence boost for a marathon, right?!?!!?!

Mind:
I am back to work now and I cannot believe my schedule in the next week- Multiple 13 hour days, full days for both jobs, training 2 new staff at Bonefish, training 2 new Nutrition Assistants at EFNEP… I sure did need this vacation to just relax and get my mind on more important things in life like Beach, Tennis, Golf, Pool, Margaritas…

Soul:
Ah, nothing like vacation to fill your soul! I surprised myself with that run too! I never even thought I would go that far but something about the cool breeze, hot sun, and waves crashing just kept me motivated the entire time to keep going.

To keep all of you motivated, a friend shared this with me today and I think everyone should remind themselves of this: “You are absolutely right. The grass is always greener and you are way too beautiful too be hanging out on the dull side.”
My eats were far from dull though!

Margarita!

I had more than one…

Hilton Head Ice Cream

I ALWAYS do up my ice cream with toppings and this little shop on the island offered tons of delicious flavors plus a free topping bar. I chose the Banana’s Foster flavored ice-cream and topped it with sprinkles, cupcake hard shell and some cookie pieces. Vacation.

We went out for dinner and glanced at the boats in the Marina while dining at Little Venice.

I loved the last line of this menu “To have patience is also part of the dignigty of a human being”

I ordered the Tilapia, which came grilled with olive oil, garlic and herbs with a side of veggies.

Quick breakfast before golf in the morning:

Apple, Yogurt and Granola bar.

Some Beach shots that you might enjoy ( although I do have tons of alligator shots and golf pics on my “real camera”, my usb cord was chewed up by my god-puppy so those will have to wait to be uploaded!)

If my shadow has a Sand-dollar Heart, it must mean I love the beach.

I wish I could just start at this all day…

On a Beachwalk on the Plantation:

We found this pretty guy:

And these guys:

There is a small, black speckled frog hanging out but there were millions of them hopping around. One is mid-flight too but hard to see unless you zoom in.

When I did run on the beach for 2 hours+ (!), I knew I would have to grab water at some point. Luckily when my family went this past August ( check out one of these posts here: Sea Pines Resort ) I knew exactly where I could find some awesome beach access stops like this one:

There were thunderstorms every evening but only for a little, which was perfect to cool everything off!

For one of our “dinners in”, we grilled Ahi Tuna, Grouper and potatoes with onions and peppers. It was so delicious!

Another meal at “home” in the timeshare had the red wine flowing…

I love the pineapple chairs, so festive. Here is my plate:

London Broil, Potatoes & Onions ( yes more, but with different seasonings and veg!), and a big ol Salad

Road Food:

Five hour+ drive means snacks and fast food. I was impressed though with the health-ier options

A Chargrilled Chicken and Fruit Salad! Apples, Grapes, Strawberries, Oranges, Carrots and Romaine with Grilled chicken, not too shabby Chic-Fil-A!

Fruit and Veggies really do come in a bottle!

Rice Cakes, these are both sweet and salty. Delightful. Oh yes and an airhead, which I haven’t had in oh about 20 years ( seriously).

Hope you enjoyed my vacation as much as I did! Have a Fantastic Memorial Day Weekend- What are your plans?

Mile 15 Happy to see the Green “House”

bhealthy — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:02:33 +0000

The green house is the plantation’s beach access, which means off the beach and one mile back to the house. Unfortunately, I was too out of it and too focused on running that I buried my head and missed the turn to the house. I kept running until I realized I had gone completely in the wrong direction for at least 2 miles. I called to get picked up by my fellow vacationers! I ended up running a total of 17 miles, in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

That is the farthest I have ever run. I planned on 12… thought I could do 13 or 14 for fun… then the competitve “pusher” in me said “you know you can do it, why not”

mile 14

bhealthy — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:25:18 +0000

mile 11 ….5 mored to go

bhealthy — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:44:15 +0000

mile 8 turn around, thank goodness for a breeze

bhealthy — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:24:18 +0000