Monday Motivation
Weekend Eating Out Game Plan
Here are a few tips if you're eating out this weekend.
Appetizers & Starters - Skip em. Most are deep-fried or loaded with cheese and fat. Ask them to take bread/buns and butter away from the table. Have a few sips of wine or beer to hold you until entree time. Or if starving, ask for a side salad.
Water - Not every restaurant uses a tonne of salt when seasoning their food, but 95% do. It’s also used as a preservative in most frozen or prepped foods like french fries, canned foods, dressings, etc. It's just part of eating out. So we are going to limit some of the effects of this onslaught of Salt. We are going to be drinking more water today at our desk, tonight at dinner, before bed and tomorrow before lunch.
Alcohol: Skip the dark beers, tonics and pop mixers. Go with light beer or lighter coloured beers, wine, and use club soda mix in hard alcohol drinks. Don’t mess with the bellini drinks or frozen margaritas.
Entrees: Salads are not always the safe option. Look at the ingredients. Does the salad have cheese, creamy dressing, nuts and avocado with corn or wonton chips. Stay away. Best Bet: A piece of protein (fish, chicken, beef), grain (not fries) and vegetables or side salad. Oil & Vinegar dressing or Balsamic.
Dessert: Here’s my move. If they have chocolate gelato I get it. If they don’t, I like to go somewhere else that does, and get gelato and wine. Or I have the gelato in my freezer at home. Chocolate or berry gelato packs a big taste punch and can satisfy your need for something sweet. Let me help you with a comparison. Chocolate cheese cake is 500 cals plus per slice with lots of fat. Small Chocolate Gelato is 90 calories.
Game plan. More water than usual. No Appie. Lighter drinks with no sugar bombs. Protein based entrees. Chocolate gelato. Have a fun weekend. I will talk to you on Monday.
Monday Motivation
Monday Motivation
POST-THANKSGIVING MOTIVATION
3 Cold Rolls from Abbey's Kitchen
Registered Dietitian All-star Abbey gives us some new lunch ideas
The Power of 5
Try this at Home...
Make a list of 5 things you’d like to do for your health today. Choose things that you know you'll have time for. I usually pick 1 or 2 I know I'm going to do anyways or have already done so I can check them off my list right away. I also pick something I'm working on or what to try.
Do this for 7 DAYS and see how you feel by the end of the week! If this works for you, keep going.
To get started:
- Start today, not on Monday.
- Only write down 5 things
- Make one of your 5 easy, something you can do in less than a minute.
- Choose one thing that is a little harder for you, something you’re working on or want to try.
- Tomorrow, make another list of 5 things. A lot of these might be the same every day and that's good because soon it will become a habit.
"We accomplish big things by consistently doing small things every day."
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Take my vitamins
Exercise for at least 30 minutes
Drink more water
Eat 1 cup of vegetables at lunch and dinner
Bring snacks with me to work - almonds, 2 pieces of fruit
Stretch for 5 min when I wake up
Drink some warm water in the morning before my coffee
Eat breakfast before I have coffee
Eat spinach today
Make a dentist appointment
Make a smoothie
Write down what I eat today
Take 15 deep breathes
Whatever makes you feel good and gets you doing something good for your health is what you should put on your list.
Try it. Have fun with it, and let me know how you did!
Not the same "ol" lunch ideas
Grainy Honey Nut Sandwich
Instructions:
Grab two slices of sprouted or grainy bread (with gluten or without). Which ever hearty bread you fancy. Toast the bread if you wish. Spread 1 Tbsp of Almond Butter on one slice of bread. Drizzle 1 tsp of Honey over almond butter. Add a dash of Cinnamon. Top with other slice of bread and cut on the diagonal. Enjoy with a bit of fruit and a greek yogurt for an extra protein punch. *You can substitute Peanut Butter or Cashew Butter for the Almond Butter
Smoked Salmon Lunch
Instructions:
*You want to keep the ingredients separate until you are ready to feast. We want the crisp bread to stay crisp.
Take 4 or 5 rectangular Rye Crisp Bread (Finn Rye Crispbread - find it in the cracker aisle). Top each crisp bread with a smear of Cream Cheese (in total about 1.5 Tbsps). Slice 40-45 grams of Smoked Salmon thinly, and top cream cheese. Take a wedge of lemon and squeeze over the salmon. Have 1.5 cups of raw vegetables and 15 grapes to make it a meal. *If you really want to take this little lunch up a notch add some fresh chives, capers or dill to the cream cheese :).
Mediterranean Bento Box
Instructions:
I love bento type meals or platter meals. There are so many different flavour combinations that you can play with. The picture above kind of tells it all. Aim for approximately 2 Tbsp of Hummus and 30 grams of Cheese.
*Other Ideas for your bento box. Leftover Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Almonds, Feta Cheese, Balsamic Vinaigrette for some veggie dipping, Naan bread, Dark Chocolate ;)
14 Beautiful Fruit-Infused Waters
Add the following ingredient to a 2-3 liter pitcher, crush lightly with a wooden spoon, and top with ice and cold water. If you like it fizzy, use a sparkling water or mineral water.
strawberry basil smash | 4-5 strawberries + 1/2 lemon sliced + small handful of basil, scrunched
citrus splash | 1 sliced lemon + 1 sliced lime + 1 sliced orange + 1 sliced grapefruit
cranberry crush | 11⁄2 cup thawed frozen cranberries + 1 sliced orange + 1 sliced lime
berry breeze | 1⁄2 cup each: fresh or thawed strawberries, blueberries & raspberries
melon mint | 1⁄2 cup each: watermelon, cantaloupe & honeydew + bunch mint leaves
sweet lychee | 1⁄2 cup drained canned lychee + 1 sliced lime + bunch mint leaves
shirley temple | 1 sliced orange + 1⁄2 cup fresh or thawed cherries + 1 sliced lime
just peachy | 2 cup drained canned peaches + 1 sliced lime
grape glory | 1 cup each: seedless red & green grapes + 1 sliced lime
cucumber lime | 1 sliced cucumber + 2 sliced limes
truly tropical | 1 cup diced pineapple + 1 cup diced mango + 1 sliced lime
strawberry kiwi | 1 cup diced strawberries + 1 cup kiwi + 1 sliced lemon
morning glory | 1 cup diced peaches + 1 sliced orange + mint leaves
apple delight | 1 red apple + 1 green apple + 1 yellow apple + 1 sliced lemon