Making Your Exercise Efficent Plus Everything I Ate Friday

Wednesday night I joined a newly-certified Personal Trainer for a high-protein dessert and some conversation. This guy just happens to be Will's twin brother and is a self-proclaimed "geek" when it comes to reading about health and fitness and how the two relate. After about 4 hours of talking I had several pages of notes that I condensed into 5 key points to share with you all:

1. Running is not the most efficient use of your time during a workout:

• Running provides a limited range of motion with a ton of bone impact.
• Many people run incorrectly which usually leads to overuse or general injuries. You can learn to run correctly by running barefoot (which will hurt!) or by purchasing a thinner-soled, flexible shoe such as the Nike Free 5.0. Harold showed me the pair he uses:

• During a 1 hour run you could hypothetically burn about 500 calories, while 30 minutes of weightlifting will burn approximately 200 calories. As your body repairs the muscle from weightlifting over the next 24 hours or so, you will burn about 12.5 extra calories per hour which equals 300 calories in a day. TRANSLATION: if you're pressed for time, lift weights.
  

2. Are you squatting correctly?

• If you are squatting by jutting your knees forward in order to move your butt back, you're doing it wrong! (I made Harold show me how to do this correctly 4 or 5 times because there is a serious difference!)
• Here is a Tony Gentilcore blog post on box squatting. Scroll all the way down to the picture titled "The Ascent" to see how to do a correct box squat.
• Harold's Tip: learn the correct form first and then add on weight.
  

3. To lose weight, add muscle first:

• People who are looking to lose weight may feel that they should shed fat before considering strength training. It kinda makes sense; you don't want to look bulky if you're going to lose weight, but your body will actually shed more weight by strength training first.
  
• If you put on muscle mass prior to losing fat mass, your metabolism will increase so you will be able to burn more fat.
• Read more about this from EliteFTS.
  

4. Deadlift. Period.

• "So, what is your favorite ex---" "Deadlifting."
• Harold is dead set on deadlifting because it involves the most muscle activation, plus he claims it will make your butt look great (ehem, ladies).
• Deadlifting can seem a bit intimidating for women and men because it's usually associated with "meatheads," but it is actually an incredible way to tone and increase heart rate. Plus, you can't become a "meathead" without eating a ton of food in conjunction with weightlifting.
  
• If you've never deadlifted before, start out with just a bar and then add on weights until you are comfortable. Once you're comfortable with the weight, push yourself!
• Here is a great article on the technique for deadlifting from Strong Lifts.

Other than deadlifting, Harold likes to circuit train. Jog as fast as you can for 30 seconds and then do a few pull ups. Mix it up and don't be afraid to step into the weight area of your gym because that is where you will see true results!


5. Eat fats:

• Above is a picture of Harold serving up some Greek yogurt, walnuts and raisins. As he was preparing the dessert he looked at the yogurt container and said, "I hate serving sizes."
  
• The whole FDA guideline situation came up as we were eating and we both agreed that we wished people would eat more healthy fats (hello avocados!) and attempt, albeit slowly, to un-think everything they've been taught about low-fat foods.
  
• In short, have your coconut oil and cook with it too!

When I asked Harold for a final word he said the following:

"For the vast majority of people, your health is the only thing you have control over. It's with you from the day you are born until the day you die. The most important thing people can do is to educate themselves on how to eat right and move right." Amen.

Check out Harold's Health and Fitness Blog for more tips or to contact him directly!

Now onto what I ate today! This morning I ate half of a pumpkin skuffin with peanut butter for breakfast:


For lunch I went out to a sushi restaurant with my friend Jill. I ordered miso soup to start:


For a main I had an eel-cucumber roll and a california roll (I was feeling a bit boring) with brown sushi rice:


I followed up lunch with some Choco-Cado pudding at home (I'm so happy I made double the recipe!):


For dinner my mom picked up falafel. I love love love love falafel and my favorite place to get it in Nassau County (yes, in the entire county) is at David's Famous Pizza and Boreka's in Cedahurst. Once Will drove me to Cedahurst to get a cavity filled at the dentist and I made sure we left early enough to grab some falafel before I wouldn't be able to eat. So. Good. Unfortunately, Cedahurst is a bit out of the way for regular falafel-eating so my mom picked these up from a more local spot. Good, but not as good as David's:


I had my falafel with homemade split pea soup courtesy of my mom:


After dinner my mom, dad, brother and I went to see my cousin in her Elementary school's production of "The Wizard of Oz." She's the munchkin in the middle:


After the play we went to Red Mango where I had a craving for chocolate (I guess I didn't eat enough pudding earlier!) I was ecstatic to learn that their chocolate syrup is organic so I ordered Pomegranate and Original flavor twisted with chocolate syrup and raspberries:


Tomorrow I am going to the best Italian restaurant in Manhattan (literally!) and I cannot wait to share with you what I eat! I will be dreaming in foodie heaven tonight....

With health,

Melissa

Everything I Ate Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday morning I grabbed a pumpkin skuffin on my way out the door to run some errands and meet with my family friend, Lainie who is a consultant for Arbonne. You can check out the bi-weekly blog I am helping her with here. Shoot her an E-mail at beautybylainine [at] gmail.com if you have any product questions; I've never seen anyone more passionate about beauty products!


My roommate Rebs and I went to the mall (she lives about 15 minutes away from me at home) for lunch and to shop for formal dresses. We stopped into La Botega for lunch where I ordered a Venezia panini which includes hearts of palm, goat cheese, portobello mushrooms and mixed greens on pressed whole wheat:


After about two hours of tireless dress-searching we decided to stop for an F-word. By F-word I mean a Starbucks Frappuccino, which is how a few of my friends and I started referring to them as when we were in London. I'm actually not even sure how it started but we'd be like, "ugh, it's time for an F-word!" Anyway, I got a Green Tea and Rebs got Coffee:


After finally finding a dress (yay!) Rebs dropped me off at home where my mom was making whole wheat pasta with Trader Joe's turkey meatballs and string beans. I snuck some basil into the tomato sauce she was cooking the meatballs in and made a cucumber, tomato and avocado salad using Persian Cucumbers:


I love these cucumbers because they are super super crunchy and just plain cute. I chopped up 3 of these 5-inch cucumbers, a beefsteak tomato and an avocado with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sea salt:


Thanks for dinner mom!


After dinner I had a bowl of strawberries and a sandwich cookie:



For dessert ate some walnuts and raisins with a friend who I will be talking about in my blog post tomorrow night. Get ready to learn some great fitness tips from a certified personal trainer!!!


I was very uncharacteristically not-so-hungry this morning, so I just had a piece of cinnamon raisin toast with Earth's Balance:


For lunch I made a Green Monster with a frozen banana and a handful of frozen cherries, 5 torn kale leaves, ground flax and hemp milk with an apple and cheese wheel:


My mom took me to see her High School's student production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." I saw the show on Broadway with Will about 3 years ago and these students did a really amazing job with it:


For dinner we went to a restaurant near the school named Touch of Italy, which my mom lovingly refers to as "Touch." For whatever reason she and I always split everything when we go there and tonight we split a salad to start:


For dinner we got pasta melanzane with whole wheat penne and garlic spinach:



I love little restaurants like this because you get to know the staff and the people who eat there (we always run into people we've seen there before!). The spinach is my favorite dish with huge slices of roasted garlic throughout.

Here is my mom with her all-time favorite cappuccino that is served with a stick of rock candy for stirring:


For dessert I made Choco-Cado pudding (x2) and served some up for myself in a short glass with sliced strawberries. Creamy, all-natural and delicious:



Be sure to check back tomorrow to learn how to get the most out of your exercise!

With health,

Melissa

Enchiladas and What I Ate

I cannot believe how beautiful the weather has been on Long Island! There are predictions for rain for the rest of the week but I really hope that it stays sunny. I ate oatmeal and toasted raisin bread with Earth's Balance spread for breakfast. The sun was beautifully blaring into the kitchen:

In the midst of running some errands in the afternoon, I stopped into Jandi's which our local all-natural foods store that got me really interested in all-natural and organic foods way back when (aka in high school). I picked up a chickpea salad with tahini-lemon dressing and chickpea tofu curry which I piled on top of ak-mak crackers. This whole lunch cost 5 bucks:


For snacks I had a Back to Nature sandwich cookie and a sliced apple with peanut butter (I almost forgot to take a picture so half of the apple is gone-- opps!):




For dinner I made enchiladas, which were inspired by the ones I ate the other night at Santa Fe. The ingredients:

4 whole wheat tortillas of Roll-Ups
4 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 white onion
6 cups raw spinach
10 button mushrooms, diced
1 can 15 oz. diced tomatoes
1 can 15 oz. black beans
Tomatillo salsa
1/3 cup 0 fat Greek Yogurt
1 cup shredded cheeses

Serves 4

Add tomatoes, onion and garlic to a pan. Let sit for 5-7 minutes and then slowly combine in the spinach, letting each handful wilt before adding in another. Mix in mushrooms and beans and let sit for 5 or so more minutes:


Wild By Nature was out of tortillas so I picked up these Roll Up's. They're a bit thicker than tortillas and they are rectangular which actually made for easy rolling:


Preheat your oven to 200 and place about 1/4 vegetables onto the left side of your tortilla or Roll Up. "Grease" your baking dish with 1-2 tbsp. of tomatillo salsa. Roll the tortilla toward the right until you've made a full wrap and place in an oven-safe, rectangular baking dish with the fold of the tortilla facing down:


In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of tomatillo salsa with the Greek yogurt to pour on top of the enchiladas:


Pour yogurt/salsa mixture over the enchiladas and top with 1 cup of sharp shredded cheeses such as Monterey Jack and cheddar. I had some vegetables remaining in my pan so I poured those over the enchiladas as well :


Place the enchiladas in a 200 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and browned a bit. That white you see is the Greek yogurt which I think tastes just like sour cream when used in a savory dish:


I served these with rice pilaf that my mom made, a lime wedge and chips and salsa. In the words of my dad, these were "awesome" and did not take long at all to make!


After dinner I had this white chocolate pretzel that my mom froze for me a few weeks ago so I could try it:


And while doing some homework (yes, homework over break :/ ) I had a Gone Bananas bar from Trader Joe's:


In the next day or two look out for a special fitness guest on the blog. See you tomorrow!

With health,

Melissa

Stuffed Red Peppers and What I Ate

I started off the morning with my favorite plain instant oatmeal by Arrowhead Mills. I sprinkled some raw turbinado sugar on top and served it with a bowl of leftover melon my mom had sliced up the day before:


Later on in the afternoon I went food shopping at Wild By Nature for some household necessities as well as the ingredients for this weeks' dinners. I hate to go food shopping around lunch time because it makes me even more hungry than usual! When I got home I popped a Gardenburger veggie burger in the microwave and then topped it with peach salsa (I am officially obsessed). I served it up with herb-flavored Mary's crackers and a Babybel cheese wedge:


I had a mini Apple Pie Larabar for snack:


Last night I looked through our kitchen to see what we had before deciding on what to make for dinner. I found a can of organic cannellini beans and for some reason instantly thought to make stuffed peppers. I had never made stuffed peppers before and I seriously cannot tell you how easy they were to make! The ingredients:

4 red bell peppers
1 cup long grain brown rice (follow directions to make 4 cooked cups)
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
4 cloves garlic
1 zucchini
6 button mushrooms
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can cannellini beans
2 tbsp. shredded fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
3 tbsp. Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Boil vegetable stock and water in a pot, add brown rice and let simmer (follow cooking directions on the back of your rice package). Pour 1tbsp. olive oil in a pan and add 4 cloves chopped garlic with finely chopped zucchini and mushrooms. After 5 or so minutes add in the diced tomatoes, beans and basil, stirring to combine all of the vegetables:


Once the rice is ready, pour the rice into the vegetable pan and combine. Preheat your oven to 350 and cut the tops off of the peppers. I just slice the top, pull out the seeds and discard them:


You can use the tops of the peppers as a snack or just put them in a container to add to salads. Grease the bottom of a square oven-safe dish with 1tbsp. olive oil and rub the remaining oil on the peppers. Carefully fill each pepper with 1 cup or so of the rice and vegetables, being sure to leave some in your pan for serving later on. With a spoon, push half of the mozzarella cheese into the center of each pepper.


Place the dish in the 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. In the last 10 or so minutes, place the remaining mozzarella over each pepper. You will know the peppers are ready when they are soft to touch and blistered on the outside.

To serve, divide the remaining rice and vegetable mixture between 4 plates. Carefully lift each pepper out of the dish and place it in the center of the plate, using the rice as a base. Here is my dad serving my mom's plate (note Mona the rooster!):


These peppers were so flavorful and hearty, everyone in my family ate every last bite! For dessert I made Green Monsters in short glasses for everyone with hemp milk, kale, ground flaxseed, frozen bananas and cherries:


(One is missing because my brother, Blake, scooped his up the second I was done pouring!). I had my smoothie with a slice of cinnamon raisin bread that I picked up today. I toasted the bread and then smothered on some Earth's Balance spread:


We very ceremoniously drank our "shakes," as my dad likes to call them, while watching "Food, Inc." I saw Robert Kenner speak at my school about a week and a half ago when I still hadn't seen the film out of fear of never wanting to eat again (OK, like that would actually happen). Anyway, a lot of what I saw in the film I had already heard of or seen through books that I've read and movies I've watched. One thing, however, that completely shocked my parents and I was how in debt farmers are and how much they, along with workers who are used later on in the manufacturing process, are exploited. Like the big brands don't have enough money already!

Kenner told the crowd how he had contacted these big brands, in addition to 90 or so other companies, and no one wanted to talk. He brought up the fact that food is more inexpensive now than it has ever been before, and how this lack of spending is contaminating the earth. I felt so horrible for the woman who worked for Perdue (who explained how expensive it is to purchase and maintain a chicken house), but I was so glad that she let the camera's into her chicken house (which was over-crowded and filled with over-weight, antibiotic-fed chickens).

Seeing this movie made me realize how important it is for the people who write food blogs to offer new, home-cooked recipes that promote amazing, chemical-free brands who care for their employees. Stonyfield is identified as one of these brands in the movie but some of my favorites are Back to Nautre, Organic Valley and Annie's Homegrown. It is also so important to support your local farmers, so check out Local Harvest to locate farmer's markets and to join a Community Supported Agriculture program. You can also take action check at Take Part. Ooook the schpiel is over. Now onto scones.

My dad asked me if I could make him scones to replace the bleached-flour and refined sugar-filled muffins he usually picks up with healthier morning fare. My dad loves pumpkin-flavored things so I was really happy to find that Oh She Glows had this Pumpkin Scuffin recipe. I made 2/3 of the recipe, keeping the amount of flax the same and I didn't top the "scuffins" with chia seeds, but these are packed with nutritionally-delicious things nonetheless. They were so SO easy to make and came out looking great:


That tiny one in the corner was my sample which I dutifully demolished in about 4 seconds flat. These would make a great gift for a pumpkin-lover!

With health,

Melissa