Game Plan

Super Bowl 2012 is right around the corner, February will be here before you know it. Usually this day consists of a lot of bad food options and evil temptations. One way to avoid losing complete control during this day of artery clogging madness is to make a PLAN!

If you are having super bowl at your house, or are bringing a dish to a friends place, plan to make some heart healthy options to replace the normal bad choices, avoid anything fried or swimming in cheese.

Ideas: 

Dips: Pair these dips with some fresh cut veggies and some whole wheat pita chips

• Hummus
• Guacamole
• Salsa

Instead of the fat laden beef chili usually cooked on Game Day, this vegetarian chili is a great healthy substitute. You can make it as spicy as you want. I also added some black beans to make it extra hearty. If you can't go without the meat, substitute ground turkey for ground beef to keep it waistline happy.

Vegetarian Chili (adapted from the South Beach diet)

2 Servings

Ingredients
3/4 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight (or 2 cans of beans)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onions
1/2 large sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 large green pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (wear plastic gloves when handling)
3/4 tablespoons mild chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
dash ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups water (or broth, I used a combo of veggie broth and a can of diced tomatoes w/juice)
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

InstructionsDrain and rinse the beans. Set aside. In a large saucepan, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 5 seconds. (Jen- If using ground cumin skip this part) Add the garlic, onions, red peppers, green peppers, jalapeño peppers, chili powder, oregano, and cinnamon. Sauté over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the beans and water.
Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the beans are tender. (Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry during cooking.)
Stir in the tomato paste and salt. Cook for 2 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro.

Nutritional Information:
328 calories
4.1 g fat mono
0 mg cholesterol
58.4 g carbohydrate
18.6 g protein
3.9 g fiber

391 mg sodium

Simple Science

Everything you read tells you that for healthy weight loss you want to lose between 1-2 pounds per week. There is some very simple science behind how to do this. When you're active, your body uses more energy (calories). And when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight loss.

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories), SIMPLE!

Diet has a stronger effect on weight loss than physical activity does but physical activity, including exercise, has a stronger effect in preventing weight gain and maintaining weight loss.

This chart shows the estimated number of calories burned while doing various exercises for one hour. 

Activity(1-hour duration)	Weight of person and calories burned
	160 pounds (73 kilograms)	200 pounds (91 kilograms)	240 pounds (109 kilograms)
Aerobics, high impact	533	664	796
Aerobics, low impact	365	455	545
Aerobics, water	402	501	600
Backpacking	511	637	763
Basketball game	584	728	872
Bicycling, < 10 mph, leisure	292	364	436
Bowling	219	273	327
Canoeing	256	319	382
Dancing, ballroom	219	273	327
Football, touch or flag	584	728	872
Golfing, carrying clubs	314	391	469
Hiking	438	546	654
Ice skating	511	637	763
Racquetball	511	637	763
Resistance (weight) training	365	455	545
Rollerblading	548	683	818
Rope jumping	861	1,074	1,286
Rowing, stationary	438	546	654
Running, 5 mph	606	755	905
Running, 8 mph	861	1,074	1,286
Skiing, cross-country	496	619	741
Skiing, downhill	314	391	469
Skiing, water	438	546	654
Softball or baseball	365	455	545
Stair treadmill	657	819	981
Swimming, laps	423	528	632
Tae kwon do	752	937	1,123
Tai chi	219	273	327
Tennis, singles	584	728	872
Volleyball	292	364	436
Walking, 2 mph	204	255	305
Walking, 3.5 mph	314	391	469

Adapted from: Ainsworth BE, et al. 2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1575.

Mad About...

Pj's
Getting dressed up everyday to go to work in heels can be so annoying! I love to lounge in some pj's on the weekends and usually they are the first thing I put on when I get home from work. I recently dropped by Victoria's Secret for the semi-annual sale and scored big time when I saw these super comfortable pj's, I feel so grown up in them.

Celery

Yes celery, I am mad about celery. With the new year resolution to drop all the extra baggage I have put on since the holidays I am going low-carb. I have learned celery is something very handy to keep around. I have been using it for different soups and snacks. The crunch of celery takes the place of chips or popcorn for me.

Yummy Celery Snack ideas:

• Celery and Peanut Butter (my personal fav)
• Celery and low-fat cream cheese
• Celery and hummus
• Celery and guacamole (I make a killer guac)

Applegate Turkey Bacon
OMG, I am defiantly mad about this stuff, Applegate turkey bacon. Turkey bacon is such a great healthy substitute for normal bacon, but I have never really been the biggest fan. Most turkey bacon is very high in sodium and never tasted that great to me, until now. Holy junk this stuff is good, at only 35 calories a slice and one slice is all you need. Try it along side some eggs in the morning...uh, yum!

Soup

I have been a soup making machine lately, again the whole low-carb syndrome. Soups are great for quick lunches or dinners, they are also a great way to get in a ton of wholesome veggies for the day to fill you up and make you feel great. I have been making big batches of soups on Sunday's and portioning them out for the week ahead. My current personal favorite soup to make that is super easy  and completely low-carb is the 17-day-diet chicken vegetable soup.

The best thing about this recipe is you can add or substitute any low-carb veggies you want! I usually substitute eggplant for the okra (not a big okra fan) and for extra-low carb goodness I leave out the carrots. I also prefer poaching the chicken and shredding it as opposed to baking it and cutting it into cubes, but play around with it and see what you like!

Ingredients

4 Chicken breasts

2 cups chopped cabbage

3 large carrot sliced bite size (leave out for xtra low-carb)

1 onion diced or chopped

4 celery stocks diced

1 can crushed tomatoes, large (I have used diced tomatoes as well for a chunkier version)

1 can chicken broth (10.75oz) (I have made it with vegetable broth as well)

1 Cup of water

.5 teaspoon salt, (I use sea salt)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Bake chicken till done and cut into chunks. Place all ingredients except the chicken in large pan and simmer for one hour or until veggies are soft. Add chicken and heat thoroughly.

Makes 6 servings

To learn more about the 17 day diet, visit the website here. Also, there is a very informative blog on the diet here.